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Japanese fishing boat tied to earthquake and tsunami spotted of B.C. coast http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-fishing-boat-tied-earthquake-tsunami-spotted-b-035901005.html VANCOUVER - A 54-meter-long fishing vessel linked to last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan has been spotted adrift off the British Columbia coast. Jeff Olsson of Victoria's Joint rescue Co-ordination Centre says an airline contracted by the federal government spotted the vessel on Tuesday about 140 nautical miles west of the southern tip of Haida Gwaii. The vessel has been identified as coming from Hokkaido, Japan and officials say it's drifting very slowly towards shore. Olsson says no one is believed to be on board and there's no risk of environmental damage. However, a warning has gone out to mariners because the vessel poses a potential navigational hazard. As much as five million tonnes of debris were swept into the ocean last March when a massive magnitude-9 earthquake and resulting tsunami struck Japan. http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/adGv7Kf47CI1Oa4MiWGvlw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zNDE7cT04NTt3PTUxMg--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/490ac21f73dbcc080a0f6a7067000611.jpg A Japanese fishing boat lost in the Pacific Ocean after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami was sighted March 20, 2012 drifting 150 nautical miles off the southern coast of Haida Gwaii near British Columbia, Canada by the crew of an aircraft on a routine surveillance patrol. The vessel is considered an obstruction to navigation, and a Notice to Shipping has been issued by the Canadian Coast Guard

Ya know, perhaps they should make sure no one is aboard?

Ghost Ship From Tsunami Unwanted (VIDEO) When there's somethin' strange... floatin' in the sea... who ya gonna call? Not the ship's owner. According to The Telegraph, the owner of the "ghost ship" bobbing off the coast of Canada isn't interested in having the lost fishing boat returned. The paper notes the unidentified owner said in Japanese media he'd given up hope of seeing the boat again. Though the vacant vessel remains afloat, in financial terms, it's a sunk cost; the owner's lack of interest stems from a high cost to retrieve the boat, Time notes, with the price to tow it into British Columbia only dwarfed by the effort for a homecoming to Japan. First reports of the soulless schooner came Saturday, as the 210-foot-long vessel was spotted about 160 miles off the coast of Haida Gwaii, near British Columbia, according to the Associated Press. Officials issued a maritime warning about the ghost ship, as it could pose a "navigational hazard," according to AP, though it poses no environmental danger. However, further reports note that the listless boat is just the beginning of an estimated 1.5 million tons of debris floating toward North America, scattered by the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/27/ghost-ship-tsunami-owner-doesnt-want_n_1382938.html