U.S. Coast Guard fires at Japanese tsunami ghost ship In this image obtained from the US Coast Guard (USCG), the unmanned Japanese fishing...

U.S. Coast Guard fires at Japanese tsunami ghost ship

In this image obtained from the US Coast Guard (USCG), the unmanned Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-un Maru drifts near Alaska, on April 4. The US Coast Guard Thursday fired on a Japanese "ghost ship" in a bid to sink it after it floated into waters off Alaska after last year's tsunami in Japan, presenting a danger to shipping

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday fired cannons from a cutter to sink a Japanese ghost ship that was drifting towards Alaska, according to local reports.

A Coast Guard cutter opened fired on the abandoned Ryou-Un Maru in the waters of the Gulf of Alaska, more than 150 miles from land, spokesman Paul Webb was quoted by a report from local KTUU TV as saying. He said it could take at least an hour to sink it.

The Japanese ship was washed out to sea by last year's tsnuami. It was set for scrapping when the Japan earthquake struck, according to Webb. The ship possibly holds thousands of gallons of fuel in its tanks.

Before the Coast Guard began to conduct the sinking operation, a Canadian fishing vessel expressed interest to salvage it, but its captain later decided it was not safe to tow it. Ryou-Un Maru' s Japanese owners also were reportedly not interested in salvaging it.

The Coast Guard cutter fired cannons to punch holes in the Ryou- Un Maru, and officials hope that could sink it to the ocean floor. A Coast Guard C-130 plane crew will monitor the operation.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have decided it is safer to sink the ship and let the fuel evaporate.