On Friday evening, it was reported by fishermen on the fishing vessel Lady Nancy, that they had spotted what appeared to be a portion of floating dock similar to the dock that floated up onto the beach in Oregon earlier this year in July.

It is likely that the dock floating off of the coast is one of four portions of dock missing from Japan’s coast. The other portion that already floated up was another portion of that same dock. There was another instance of a dock reported floating at sea in September of this year floating off of the island of Molokai.

The large piece of marine debris was spotted approximately 16 nautical miles northwest of Grays Harbor entrance.

The United States Coast Guard has been continuously broadcasting a Safety Marine Information Message alerting mariners to be on the lookout for this floating object off of the coast of Washington state. The Sector Columbia River/Air Station Astoria, Oregon has also been flying searches in an attempt to locate that hazard. They have flown five missions since Friday covering 317 square miles of the ocean in the area the debris was reported to be at.

The Washington State Emergency Management Division has been coordinating efforts to locate and address the issue. Contact has been made with the Quinault Indian Nation, NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Sanctuary, Olympic National Park, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to review the state’s planned response.

Japan estimates that approximately 1.5 million tons of tsunami debris still remains in the water from the disaster last year. It is estimated that the debris field covers an area equal or exceeding three times the size of the United States. Japan estimates that as much as 5 million tons of debris was swept into the sea, but that a large majority of that debris sank to the bottom of the ocean off of their shores.

According to NOAA, beachcombers can expect to find many items of a buoyant nature along the beaches for many years to come. Already found have been vessels, a motorcycle in a crate, and several sportsballs and buoys. It can be expected that in the near future, items such as fishing nets, lumber, plastics, household items, foam pieces, and possibly chemical or oil drums will be found.

The United States Coast Guard coordinates with state, federal, local, and tribal partners to deal with floating debris off of their coasts. In one instance in March of last year, the Coast Guard deemed a floating ghost ship from the Japanese disaster floating off of Southeast Alaska a navagational hazard. That vessel was sunk using cannon fire and water cannons.