U.S.

Ehime Maru Salvage Try On Its Way

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

August 23, 2001 / 7:23 AM EDT / CBS

The Navy lifted the stern of the Ehime Maru high enough for salvage crews to begin installing equipment needed to raise the 830-ton Japanese fishing vessel sunk by a U.S. submarine.

The Ehime Maru rests in 2,000 feet of water nine miles south of Diamond Head. The vessel sank Feb. 9 after it was rammed by the USS Greeneville during a rapid-surfacing drill.

The Navy is trying to raise the vessel 100 feet off the sea floor to bring it closer to shore so divers can try to recover the bodies of nine men and boys believed to be aboard. Twenty-six people on the boat were rescued.

In an operation that lasted into the night Wednesday, Navy and contract engineers using remotely operated equipment attempted to pull two wires — one at the stern and one at the center — underneath the hull, said Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Russell Coons.

Â"It's a cradle effect,Â" Coons said.

Once that's completed, the engineers planned to pull through another cable that will be used to pull two 50-foot-long lifting plates under the Ehime Maru and into position, he said.

The Pearl Harbor-based Greeneville remained in port at Guam for minor repairs Wednesday after being damaged while trying to enter the Saipan seaport Monday. A preliminary investigation found the submarine brushed the bottom in extremely rough seas on its approach to the harbor, the Navy said.