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    • A Sailor Misses When Japanese Minesweeper Catches Fire and Capsizes
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    A Sailor Misses When Japanese Minesweeper Catches Fire and Capsizes

    Harry Posted on

    While the Sugashima-class mine-clearing ship JS Ukushima was preparing to conduct an exercise with the US Navy on the morning of November 10, a fire broke out in the engine room off the island of Oshima near Fukuoka Prefecture. The exercise was later cancelled.

    In a tragic incident, a sailor from the JMSDF (Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force) goes missing following the minesweeper JS Ukushima. caught fire It sank off the coast of Fukuoka Prefecture on November 10, 2024. Asahi Shimbun reported. Sugashima-class minesweeper carrying a crew of 38 to 40 people reportsDuring a training exercise, a fire broke out in the engine room at approximately 9:40 a.m., approximately 2.5 km off the island of Oshima.

    The ship immediately sent a distress call to the 7th Regional Headquarters of the JCG (Japan Coast Guard). JS Ukushima had left the Shimonoseki base in Yamaguchi Prefecture and was heading to Kagoshima Prefecture for an exercise with the US Navy. Kyodo News in question. After the accident, the exercise was canceled.

    The missing crew member was identified as Petty Officer 3rd Class Tatsunori Koga, 33. another one JMSDF The personnel are recovering in a hospital and both are assigned to the engine room. The incident is reminiscent of the fire aboard the US Navy’s amphibious ship. USS Bonhomie RichardIt was heavily damaged by a fire on the ship in July 2020.

    The 54-meter-long minesweeper, with a displacement of 510 tons, was built with a wooden hull to be resistant to magnetic mines.

    rescue efforts

    The inferno lasted for about six to seven hours, with JCG ships and another JMSDF minesweeper, JS Toyoshima, joining firefighting and rescue efforts. of japan NHK News shared a post video Page X shows the minesweeper in flames at 7pm on Sunday. another one video It showed the capsized bow of the ship barely rising above the water.

    A series of pictures and videos ‘OSINT defender’ It showed Toyoshima and Ukushima side by side, transporting survivors, with thick, thick smoke coming from engine exhaust behind the bridge. This may suggest that the fire must have intensified after the fire was brought under control, initially focusing on rescue efforts.

    The fire was extinguished around midnight on November 11, while the survivors were successfully evacuated to Toyoshima. At 8:30 the next morning, Ukushima finally capsized and sank.

    JMSDF divers and JCG ships are now engaged missing crew wanted. It is unclear whether the JMSDF will salvage the ship. The reports included the statement of JMSDF Chief of Staff Admiral Akira Saito, who said that the search for the crew would continue.

    JS Toyoshima transports survivors alongside JS Ukushima. (Image credit: X)

    Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said at a press conference on Monday: “The Government of Japan will do its best to search for the missing personnel and take all possible measures to determine the cause and take preventive measures.”

    NHK News On 12 November it was reported that the underwater search was moving “around the sunken ship” into nearby waters. The ship settled on the seabed “with the bottom facing up” at a depth of “about 40 metres”.

    NHK added that the decision to move to a different search area was “taken after divers entered the ship and searched mainly the engine room but found nothing.” Another NHK report said the JMSDF planned to use a “camera-equipped” UUV to conduct the search.

    JMSDF has now formed a committee and launched an investigation into the causes of the fire.

    Exercise with the US Navy

    The training trip was part of preparations for a joint exercise with the U.S. Navy scheduled for later this month. Stars and Stripes He said the joint exercise, which focused on minesweeping, was later cancelled. A JMSDF expression He stated that the exercise was defined as MCM/EOD (Mine Countermeasures/Explosive Ordnance Detonation) exercises and added that the exercise was planned from 16 November to 26 November.

    By the way The exercise was part of a larger bilateral exercise with the U.S. Navy to improve the JMSDF’s tactical capabilities and interoperability, according to a JMSDF press release on Nov. 5. The JMSDF component consisted of four minesweepers and one aircraft, led by Rear Admiral Ikeuchi Izuru, commander of the Mine Warfare Force. Specific exercises included mine laying, mine sweeping, mine searching and EOD (Explosive Ordnance Detection).

    The USN detachment consisted of a surface minesweeper and EODT (Explosive Ordnance Detection Team) and UUV (Unmanned Underwater Vehicle) operators are led by Capt. Antonio L. Hyde, commander of Mine Countermeasures Squadron 7.

    USS Bonhomme Richard

    Like aviation man Information about the incident was given at that time USS Bonhomme Richard In the incident that occurred at the San Diego Naval Base on July 12, 2020, 21 people were injured, but there were no deaths. That fire was believed to have started in a “deep V area,” in a lower cargo hold where “maritime equipment and vehicles were stored,” as Rear Admiral Philip Sobeck, then commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, told reporters.

    A story by Andrew Dyer San Diego Tribune Sobeck added that the fire was not caused by fuel oil, hazardous materials or electrical reasons and described it as a Class Alpha fire. This meant that the fire started when paper, fabric, rags or other non-toxic materials ignited on the ship. There were 160 U.S. Navy personnel and civilians aboard the Bonhomme Richard that Sunday morning when the fire started. Repairs to the ship were estimated to take up to seven years and cost $3.2 billion. This will lead to the ship being decommissioned on April 15, 2021, followed by its sale for scrap.

    Harry
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