The Sinking of the Ehime Maru

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a detailed look at the accident that took place between the American submarine, the USS Greenville, and the Japanese fishing boat sending it to the bottom of the ocean within minutes and in its aftermath the impact on relations between the U.S. and Japan.

Table of Contents

The Search Begins

The Investigation

The U.S. Apology

U.S.-Japan Security Relations

What's Next

Bibliography

From the Paper:

"All of a sudden there was a violent shock and noise - it felt like the stern of the ship was being pushed up. There were two loud cracking sounds" the Captain of the Japanese fishing trawler Ehime Maru, Hisao Onishi, recounts[1]. In an instant, an American submarine, the USS Greenville, performing emergency maneuvers off the coast of Honolulu sliced through the bottom of the Japanese fishing boat sending it to the bottom of the ocean within minutes. The crew of the Ehime Maru didn't even have time to radio an SOS, as the power was out immediately. Some of the 26 on board the Ehime Maru told of water and fuel immediately flooding the stairwells, as they rushed to higher levels. One crew member said that the engine room was immediately flooded to the ceiling - he was "able to take two breathes before being flooded out"[2]. The Captain frantically screamed for everyone to make their way to the bridge and the life rafts, though in the end, most were washed overboard without a raft at all. Luckily, the ship was equipped with life rafts that deploy automatically in the event of a sinking, so those thrown overboard were at least able to swim to the nearest one. Those already in a raft tried their hardest to help the others aboard, though the 6-foot waves and oil-slicked waters made swimming difficult. Three life rafts finally assembled, though it was difficult to count how many were in each raft. The Captain said, ?we tried looking for the others, since there was a lot of floating debris. However, we were unable to find anyone else.?[3] In the end, nine of the twenty-six aboard that day were not rescued and are presumed dead. Of those still missing, four are 17-year old fisheries students, two are teachers, and three are crewmembers of the Ehime Maru."

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