Misawa dock on the Washington Coast ; final report, October 31, 2013 ;

Marine Debris Program (U.S.)

"On December 14, 2012, a floating dock -- one of the four washed out from Misawa harbor by the devastating tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011 -- was spotted off the Washington coast and reported to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). Federal and state agencies and Indian Tribes responded quickly and collaboratively, and prepared for the response, at sea or on shore. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) generated trajectories to estimate the dock's movement and possible landfall. USCG launched over-flights to search for the dock, locating it on December 18 at a remote beach in Washington State, within the Olympic National Park and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) areas. State and federal agencies convened in Forks, Washington at an Incident Command Post, and along with aquatic invasive species (AIS) experts, conducted a site visit to assess the dock and attached a tracking buoy to it. In later visits the agencies removed all visible growth, greatly reducing further risk of AIS introduction. Once it was on shore, responsibility for removal of the dock shifted to the landowners, NOAA and National Park Service (NPS), who put together a funding package and managed the contracting efforts to remove the dock"--Executive summary.

Miscellaneous

National Ocean Service (NOS)