Unmanned and unlit. USCG photoThe U.S. Coast Guard says a derelict Japanese fishing vessel, the Ryou-Un Maru, has drifted into Southeast Alaska waters and is posing a navigational hazard some 180 miles west of Dixon Entrance.
The vessel was first sighted more than a week ago in Canadian waters.
The Ryou-Un Maru has been drifting unmanned and unlit at sea presumably since Japan's massive tsunami more than a year ago, the Coast Guard says.
The Coast Guard has dropped a data marker buoy near the vessel to track its location, and a cutter is heading out to assess the situation.