U.S. Coast Guard takes out Japanese ‘ghost ship’

The U.S. Coast Guard fired on a Japanese ”ghost ship” on Thursday, that had been wasted out to sea near Alaska by last years devastating tsunami.

The unmanned vessel, Ryou-Un Maru posed a threat to other marine traffic, finally sank at about 6:15pm local time nearly five hours after the Coast Guard first opened fire on the ship.

Coast Guard fired a series of blasts at the ship using a 25mm machine gun, lasting approximately one hour. The ship soon caught fire and finally sank clearing the way for other marine traffic in the area.

The ship, nearly 200 feet in length, lacked any lighting, making it a dangerous obstacle at night, the Coast Guard said.

The ship’s Japanese owner has said it had no plans to salvage the vessel.