To ensure the accomplishment of all objectives during this international diving operation, MDSU One planned the mission and developed a very detailed Concepts of Operation (CONOPS) guide that established a road map for accomplishing the five mission objectives. With the On-Scene Commander's decision to conduct only daylight diving, CONOPS required 70 divers, divided into two separate dive stations, working 16 hours a day for 33 days. The team was comprised of our three Oahu Mobile Diving and Salvage Detachments, as well as divers from Ship Repair Facility (Yokosuka, Japan); Explosive Ordnance Disposal Units Three and Eleven; Naval Submarine Training Center, Pacific, Dive School; and the USS Salvor.

On October 14, 2001, the Ehime Maru was relocated to the Shallow Water Relocation Site (SWRS) off Reef Runway. MDSU One, aboard the Crowley 450-10 barge, was then positioned over the Ehime Maru.

Following a 24-hour period to allow Ehime Maru to settle, scuba divers conducted an external inspection to verify access to the ship's interior spaces were clear and to place inclinometers on the vessel to monitor ship stability before surface-supplied diving operations could begin for internal work.

Forty-eight hours later, divers donning MK-21 helmets equipped with the helmet-mounted camera and light system, and wearing dry suits for contaminated diving, entered the vessel and cleared debris in an effort to locate and recover the nine missing crew members. Simultaneously operating two dive stations, divers entered the ship to find total destruction of bulkheads, overheads, and debris fouling every passageway inside the ship's four deck levels. Following extensive debris removal, passageways were cleared and made safe for deeper excursions. Using approved diver-tending techniques and meticulous search procedures, divers located and recovered eight of the nine missing crew members.

Following the recovery of crew member remains, divers proceeded to objective two to collect all personal effects. The dive team searched four decks, clearing 120 compartments of over 2,500 personal items. Objective three was the recovery of unique shipboard items that would be used as a memorial artifacts. Items collected included the ship's helm, bell, and anchors. Certain family members requested collection of unique items that the missing crew members would have used in the performance of their shipboard duties, including radio equipment and engineering control handles.

Objective four shifted diver priorities to removing hazardous liquid materials. This was a critical phase in preparing the vessel for removal to the final relocation. Due to the hull damage and rupture of fuel tanks, there was a large amount of diesel fuel and lube oil in the overheads and spaces which required removal. During preparation for diving in a contaminated environment, divers designed and manufactured a first-of-its-kind decontamination shower station for the dive teams. Once topside, divers proceeded to the shower for scrub down, then back to their benches for undress prior to entry into the recompression chamber to complete the Surface Decompression using Oxygen requirements.

To clear diesel fuel, lube oil and other hazardous liquids, divers used hand-held suction wands for removing pocketed fluids trapped in the compartment overheads. To access fuel tanks that were not compromised, divers utilized a technique called "hot tap" to install two valve flanges onto the fuel tank side-walls. The valve flanges provided a connection point for hoses that led to an oily waste holding tank on the contractor barge. MDSU One divers accessed a fuel storage tank and emergency generator service tank to remove fuel. Accessing these tanks was completed successfully without any loss of hazardous pollutants to the environment.

To complete objective four, MDSU One divers had to clear all topside materials deemed hazardous to the environment and marine life. Divers cleared and removed over 127,680 meters of fishing long-line and an estimated two tons of miscellaneous topside debris. All debris and material was brought to the surface or secured inside the ship. These efforts ensured there would be no environmental impact once the vessel was moved from the SWRS to the final relocation site.

The final objective was to prepare and rig the Ehime Maru for lift, which required the connection of all lifting wires and plates. The contractor barge was used to perform a ballast lift of the 830-ton Ehime Maru for the 14-mile transit to the final relocation site. MDSU One divers connected the lifting plates and spreader bar assembly to the contractor barge, connected exothermic cutting devices on the lift wires, and placed acoustic pingers to enable position fixing once the Ehime Maru was finally released at the deepwater relocation site.

Throughout the 33 days of diving, MDSU One logged over 650 dives totaling 625 hours of bottom time without diver mishap to accomplish a task of a complexity not seen since the Pearl Harbor salvage work over 60 years ago. The two separate dive teams accomplished the five mission objectives and ensured that Japanese cultural sensitivities were honored. This is a testimony to the pride and professionalism of the Navy Divers. During the mission, as a show of patriotism and remembrance for the September 11 victims, the MDSU One team proudly displayed a 50-by-30 foot American flag on the contractor barge. UW