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Daiki Maru salvage operation is nearing an end
APRA HARBOR, Guam—Salvage operations and cleanup efforts are nearing an end for the grounded Japanese fishing vessel Daiki Maru 7 in outer Apra Harbor on May 9.
Nearly two-thirds of the vessel has been safely removed for disposal by a unified command of partner agencies collaborating to mitigate environmental and safety dangers to Guam.
“There has been great progress and we are getting close to an end,” said Capt. Mike Ward, Naval Base Guam commanding officer. “There is about a third of the vessel left with the bow and the stern salvaged, safely removed from the area and put in a location to be disposed of. We still have the middle portion of the vessel where the engine sits and that will be the last part of the salvage effort.”
“We have not had any major safety incidents and that is our primary focus as we work every day with the responsible party and the salvage team to ensure we are safe in all our operations while making steady progress.”
A contract salvage team is utilizing an on-site barge and crane to disassemble the vessel in preparation for transport to shore and proper disposal. All recoverable hazardous materials have been removed from the vessel, which ran aground Feb. 13.
Contract teams conduct cleanup operations regularly to ensure demolition debris from the vessel does not further impact the environment as salvage continues.
The Daiki Maru 7 salvage operation is nearing an end as only a third of the vessel remains intact in Apra Harbor on May 9. Since the fishing vessel ran aground in Apra Harbor Feb. 13, all recoverable hazardous materials from the vessel have been removed while the Navy and other partner agencies have taken continuous steps to mitigate environmental damage. (U.S. NAVY/TIMOTHY WILSON)
The unified command consists of representatives from Naval Base Guam, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam and the responsible party. Other agencies that have been involved in all aspects of planning from the standup include Joint Region Marianas operations department, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Marianas environmental personnel, NOAA, Guam Fish and Wildlife Service, Guam Environmental Protection Agency, Mammoet Salvage, and Osroco.
