Weeks after it washed ashore at Agate Beach on the Oregon coast near Newport, the demolition of the Japanese tsunami dock has finally begun.

After thoroughly cleaning potentially hazardous and destructive organisms off the huge 60' by 90' dock, crews have begun so attempt to cut the dock apart. They have been met with limited success, though, as the first cut to slice through the dock was unsuccessful. Using wire and concrete saws, they hope to cut the dock in half, then load it using a crane to place on a semi-truck to have it hauled off so it can be cut up or disposed of.

Crews are finding the concrete and steel exterior is surrounding huge foam blocks that made the dock float.  Because it was on the Japanese coast, and was covered with plants, algae and other forms of life foreign to our shores, crews are being careful not to spread any potential contaminants along the beach.   No timetable has been set for completion of the project.  The dock became a major tourism attraction as the largest piece of Japanese Tsunami wreckage (so far) to successfully make it's way across the Pacific.   Earlier this spring, a derelict 200 plus foot squid ship that was designated for salvage was swept out to sea by the waves last March, and was sunk off the Canadian coast by the U.S. Coast Guard after drifting across the ocean.

Saw being used to cut into Japanese dock
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the crane that will lift the cut up dock onto truck
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