On the night of the 23rd, a patrol boat of the Japan Coast Guard, which was sailing about 55 km south of Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture, sucked in the drifting pumice stones and became unable to navigate.
The patrol boat is towed by another ship and heads for the port, and the crew is not injured.
According to the Nakashiro Maritime Security Department, at around 6:20 pm on the 23rd, the patrol boat "Shimagumo", which had completed shooting training and was sailing about 55 km south of Cape Kyan in Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture, I sucked pumice stones into the engine cooling system and became unable to navigate.
The patrol boat "Ishigaki", which we both trained in shooting, headed for rescue, and started towing the patrol boat after 9:30 pm using a rope, heading for Nakashiro Shinko, which straddles Okinawa City and Uruma City.
This trouble means that the nine crew members were not injured.
According to the Japan Coast Guard, a large amount of pumice stones, which are thought to have erupted from the submarine volcano of the Ogasawara Islands, were drifting in the sea near Okinawa, and the patrol boat was sailing while avoiding this, but inhaled it. ..
The Japan Coast Guard calls for careful attention to inhalation of pumice stones when navigating near Okinawa.