A salvage ship contracted by the U.S. Navy arrived here Wednesday morning to join in the operation to raise the Japanese fisheries training vessel Ehime Maru, sunk in February in a collision with a surfacing U.S. submarine, to more shallow water.
The Rockwater 2 is the second ship to arrive in Hawaii to lay the groundwork for what is hoped to be the retrieval of the remains of nine crew members, including four high school students from Uwajima Fisheries High School in Ehime Prefecture, who are believed entombed in the vessel, which lies 600 meters under the surface.
The submersible Ocean Hercules was dispatched last month to clear the ship's hull of cargo nets and other obstacles, including the center mast, which was removed in preparation for the ship's move to a shoal off Honolulu International Airport.
The 5,991-ton Rockwater 2, a multipurpose support vessel, will be used as the platform from which two remotely operated submersibles and drilling equipment can be maneuvered to rig and move the sunken ship.