Miura

Two crewmembers of the 19-ton-tug "Kitamaru No. 12" drowned when their ship capsized on Sep 19, 2011, at about 7:35 a.m. in the port of Wajima while assisting the "Miura". It was one of two tugboats that were about to pull the "Miura" away from Wajima Port Marine Town. The captain and his deckhand were thrown into the sea. A search by the "Miura" and patrol boats of the regional Coastguard found them near the breakwater of the quay. They were pulled out of the sea by firefighters and others who rushed to the scene, but they were confirmed dead. The "Miura" had called at the port on Sep 18, and the two tugs were trying to pull it away from the quay on Sep 19 for its departure. According to the Kanazawa Local Meteorological Observatory, strong wind and wave warnings were in effect for the sea around Wajima at the time of the accident. Waves off Wajima were relatively high--from 2.5 meters to 3 meters and wind speed was 10 meters per second.