High waves and strong winds Friday prevented the U.S. Navy from lifting the stern of the Ehime Maru, the Japanese high school fisheries training vessel that was hit and sunk by a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in February, to reposition one of two lead wires, a Navy official said.
The positioning of the two wires, called messenger wires, is critical to the rigging and transporting of the ship from its current location at a depth of about 600 meters to a shallow shoal, where divers will attempt to retrieve the remains and personal effects of the nine people who were lost in the collision.
The official said the navy has decided to wait out the rough conditions and hopes that the 3-meter waves and strong winds will subside so work can resume on positioning the forward wire.
Poor visibility hampered efforts by navy technicians during the first lift maneuver on Thursday as sediment stirred up by the remotely operated vehicles meant they could not see that the forward wire had become entangled around the center of the ship, rather than under the pilot house.