田吹 遥子 
The external fuel tank of an F/A-18E Super Hornet aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, which is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the service of the U.S. Navy, was abandoned in the ocean about 27.8 kilometers into the coastal waters off of Okinawa. However, on May 30, ten people appearing to be U.S. Navy personnel commenced a recovery operation around 12:30 p.m. on June 1 on the shore in Miyagi, Higashi Village, Okinawa where the external fuel tank washed ashore. The U.S. Navy personnel lifted the empty fuel tank up and had it loaded onto a cargo truck before 1:00 p.m. the same day.
According to the Okinawa Defense Bureau, the tank was 5.3 meters long and approximately 80 centimeters wide. On May 30 the local residents discovered the fuel tank which had washed up onto the shore in Miyagi, Higashi Village. On May 31 two people appearing to be Navy personnel visited the site where the tank washed ashore and put up caution tape surrounding the tank, however, by high tide before 1:00 p.m. the simple supports had collapsed and the caution tape had been detached and weather-beaten.
In an interview with the Ryukyu Shimpo, a spokesperson for the U.S. Naval Forces Japan Headquarters explained that the object was an empty external fuel tank, and also acknowledged that the U.S. Navy had abandoned the tank. On June 1, a slight odor of oil still hung in the air at the site where the fuel tank had washed ashore.
(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)
Go to Japanese https://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/entry-1526572.html
