The deck barge after entering Oura Bay
December 11, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
Around 8:00 a.m. a large-scale deck barge for storing soil for use in land reclamation work entered Oura Bay in Henoko, Nago City where Futenma Replacement Facility construction is moving forward. The deck barge was led to the bay by a tugboat, in the direction of Sedake, Nago City.
It is possible for the deck barge to continue depositing soil, without interruption, from an installed position. This is meant to speed up land reclamation work on the Henoko side of Cape Henoko.
The barge is 141 meters long and 36 meters wide. The Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) calls it a “deck barge”, and as much as 9,000 cubic meters of soil can be loaded upon it. Up to this point cargo ships carrying soil have been making repeated round trips stopping at Awa in Nago City, Shiokawa in Motobu Town, and then Oura Bay in Henoko. It is possible for the barge sit in Oura Bay holding several cargo ships’ loads worth of soi