Fishing boat returns to Japanese port ten years after it was lost in 2011 tsunami

A small fishing boat which disappeared from the city of Kesennuma, Japan, following the huge tsunami and nuclear disaster ten years ago has reappeared. According to The Guardian, the fishing vessel was found off Hachijo island earlier this months after it disappeared from the north-eastern Japanese region of Tohoku. The Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 was the most powerful ever recorded in the country and it caused a tsunami with waves of up to 40.5 metres that killed over 10,000 people. 

As per reports, a local fishing cooperative confirmed that the 5.5-metre fibreglass boat had once belonged to the Kesennuma fishing fleet after checking the vessel’s registration number. The boat was found covered in coral which sparked speculation about where it might have passed through.  The vessel was also found with fish and crabs swimming in puddles inside. It was later towed to the coast by the local authorities. 

While speaking to Japanese local media outlet, a resident and ocean expert said that it is possible that after the boat was swept away to an area near the US west coast, it moved to Southeast Asia on the North Equatorial Current. The expert added that the north-flowing Kuroshio Current then could have brought the vessel “home” to Japan. 

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Resurfaced objects 

It is worth noting that the boat is not the only object to resurface after a long time at sea. Back in April 2012, a couple living on Middleton island in the Gulf of Alaska had found a football which had markings on it that indicated it belonged to a school in Iwate, which was one of three prefectures that were hardest hit by the tsunami. The same year, a US coastguard also reported sank a fishing boat in the Gulf of Alaska that had drifted from Japan, after deeming it a hazard to shipping. 

In another case, a Harley Davidson lost in the tsunami also washed up on a Canadian island in a larger white container. The owner of the rusty motorcycle was also later identified through its number plate. In 2015, a piece of a commercial fishing boat that was ripped from Japan’s coast, also turned up near Oregon, carrying a small diaspora of live yellowtail jackfish, which is native to East Asian waters. Further, a massive Japanese dock had also washed up on Agate Beach, which is about 90 miles southwest of Portland. 

(Rep image: @gpj_english/Twitter)

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