US Navy Provides Pumps to Assist in Reactor Cooling Effort

By Commander, Naval Forces Japan Public Affairs
Posted: March 18, 2011

YOKOSUKA, Japan - The U.S. Navy has provided five high-capacity pumping systems to Japan's Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Group Nuclear Asset Management Department to assist in the effort to cool the core of the damaged No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant.
 

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan (March 17, 2011) - U.S. Airmen from the 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron load U.S. Navy pumps onto a forklift. The materials will be utilized by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to assist and provide disaster relief and humanitarian assistance to Japan as directed in support of Operation Tomodachi. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Andrea Salazar) | Download

The five pumps came from the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Emergency Ship Salvage Material (ESSM) locker located in Sasebo, Japan.

The pumps were picked up from the Air Mobility Command (AMC) terminal at Fukuoka International Airport on Wednesday evening and flown via U.S. Air Force C-17 to Yokota Air Base. One U.S. Salvage Engineer and one Navy Master Diver from the CTF-73 staff in Singapore accompanied the pumps to Yokota where they met up with Japanese Civil Defense personnel to provide training on the equipment. The pumps will then be transported by the Japanese to the reactor site sometime Thursday.

The two U.S. salvage experts from Singapore will not travel to Fukushima to assist in the effort.

According to the ESSM website, www.supsal.org, the ESSM system is a series of facilities located within the continental United States and at other sites around the world "that provide ship salvage, pollution control, and underwater ship husbandry equipment on an emergency or as required basis."

The U.S. Navy continues missions in support of Operation Tomodachi in response to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunamis that hit northern Japan March 11.