In the midst of a nuclear crisis in Fukushima, somehow TEPCO has managed to make the situation even more surreal. As nuclear engineers rotate on and off of their shifts trying to prevent meltdown, they are faced with the reality that there isn’t anywhere warm and comfortable in the area to get themselves together. Below is the ship, the Kaiwo Maru II, docked in Onahama Port in Fukushima, where the engineers go to get cleaned up and relax. We had the opportunity to board the ship a few days ago and interact (briefly) with the workers coming back from their shifts at the severely damaged reactor.
Driving up, it was shocking at the complete lack of people around. Simply a massive 4-mast ship sitting in the harbor. We were the only people outside of those on board.
It was hard to get a nice shot of the ship since the size of it far exceeded what my camera lens could take in. I took some film shots on my Horizon panoramic, but haven’t developed the negs yet. As you see, the road around the ship is quite damaged, as it most of the little town after being pummeled by the tsunami. However, the damage here would be quite shocking were it not for the infinitely larger devastation further up North.
Before boarding the ship, everyone is check for radiation by the crew. The two engineers below had their bodies, as well as their plastic bags full of belongings, scanned up and down. I also got the scan treatment along with my plastic Holga. As we questioned them, they gave the standard reply of “We’re doing our best” as an unidentified TEPCO staffer stood watch. When I asked him what his job was, he declined to comment and drove off.
While on board, the beauty of the day and the sheer complexity of the ropes and pulleys on the ship put me in a good mood. We were unable to see inside the living quarters where the workers spend their relaxation time, but I can assume that it’s not exactly a fun place to be. Peace and quiet is probably in high demand though.
The Kaiwo Maru II sits in a relatively serene (but windy!) spot on the far end of the port, but not far from it you find the chaos that came two weeks ago.
All around town are smashed shops, flipped cars, downed power lines, and enormous ships and barges sitting on dry land. Were it not so terrible in reality, there would be a kind of beauty in it, much like how ancient ruins feel to walk through.
Below, a family works to clean up their damaged seaside home. It was pretty incredible how people still sort their garbage into “burnable” and “recyclable” even in this situation.
One of innumerable sunken boats is pulled out of the water by a massive crane, with locals somewhat hesitant to look inside each one as it’s brought up.
A fire truck that probably would have been useful, had it not been sitting in the direct path of a tsunami.
A residential street on the coast at the beginning of a long cleaning process.
As for the engineers on the boat, we can only wish them luck.
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