[namvet]

raise the Musashi???? believe it or not plans are underway to raise it. if there's anything left to raise !!!!!

October 23, 2008

In the seas of Sibuyan, Romblon, Philippines where lies once the biggest and most powerful Japanese battleship, the Musashi warship, that was sunk on October 24, 1944 during World War II. In the province of Romblon, Allied forces unleashed torpedos and bombs to the Musashi warship that lead to its destruction and hit the bottom of the Sibuyan Sea.

But there is a report that this once sunken biggest and powerful Japanese warship will refloat again and will become a tourist attraction. Right now, negotiations are under way for the plan of salvaging the sunken Japanese warship, the Musashi warship. This has develop because a Switzerland-based company, the Swiss Global Connect, has offered the service to salvage the Musashi warship and refloat it.


The Swiss company sent a letter to Toshihiko Suzuki, the chief executive officer of AIPAC (Asian Countries and Islands Optical Fiber Communication Establishment and Philippines Properties in Asia) through Filipino businessman Antonio Datuin, Ashroff Gaffoor, director of Swiss Global that they are capable of salvaging the giant Japanese warship.

AIPac will be the one to provide the funding to this project since it was reported that they have billions of Euros and dollars that is deposited in BS Bank in Zurich, Switzerland. Toshihiko Suzuki and Kiyoshi Goto will work with the concerned Philippine Agency in salvaging the sunken Japanese warship since they represents the government of Japan. A foundation in Romblon named ROCHAI (Romblon Homeowners and Cultural Association) headed by its chairman, retired General Dominador Resos, will be the project proponent. Resos and the group of Suzuki has been working together on the salvaging project and are planing to make this warship into a tourist attraction.

The sunken Japanese warship, the Musashi warship, will be towed to the Carabao Island once it is refloted and will be converted and develop into a war museum. Carabao Island will be developed into a tourist spot. Residents and locals of this province and nearby province will benefit in this project since internation airport, seaport, hotels and other world class amenities will be develop.

Not only in tourism that the refloating of the sunken Japanese Musashi warship is proposing but this is also a tribute to the friendship of the Filipino and Japanese people. Many people will benefit in this project especially the relatives of the crews of the sunken vessel.

Dubbed as the world’s biggest battleship, Japan’s Musashi with a crew contingent of 3,500 (not 1,023 as some historians claim) to its watery grave some 1,000 meters underwater in the Sibuyan Sea.

but there's opposition from the Philippine gov

Raising Musashi could harm environment


By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 19:35:00 10/22/2008

Filed Under: War, Environmental Issues


MANILA, Philippines—Opposition Senator Loren Legarda is against a plan to bring to surface the Japanese warship Musashi, which sank off Romblon province 64 years ago during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea.

Legarda said raising Musashi, among the largest and most heavily-armed battleships ever built, could imperil the marine ecosystem in the area.

“Surely, the warship is now home to marine life off the island of Romblon. Refloating it now would invite damage to the marine ecosystem there," she said in a statement on Wednesday.

Legarda’s warning came after a group of Japanese, headed by a government representative Kiyoshi Goto, offered to refloat the shipwreck found 4,430 feet under water at 13 degrees 07'01" North, 122 degrees 31'59" East, off the Bondoc Peninsula.

Musashi sank during intense air attacks by American forces on October 24, 1944.

The Japanese group said “refloating the warship is in honor of the friendship between the Japanese and the Filipino people."

Legarda insisted that the environmental concerns should be addressed first, even as she acknowledged the historical significance of bringing the battleship to surface.

"If this ship will ever be raised from the bottom of the sea, it should serve as a memorial to those who risked and sacrificed their lives for freedom and love of country," she said.

"Like any war relic, it must serve as a reminder to the present and future generations of the senselessness of war,” she further said.

The Musashi was the second and final Yamato class battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, with the legendary Yamato as its sister ship.

Attacked by American dive bombers, the Musashi capsized to port, bringing down with her about 1,000 of her 2,299 crew.

http://www.etravelpilipinas.com/phil...s-services.htm

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakin...rm-environment