The maritime prepositioning ship that ran aground off Okinawa Thursday unloaded most of its military personnel over the weekend, but the Navy is no closer to freeing the stricken vessel.

Forty-seven soldiers and 18 Marines were taken off the container ship Sgt. Matej Kocak by an Army landing craft, leaving 20 soldiers and 8 Marines aboard for cargo custody and maintenance, according to a Navy official with knowledge of the situation.

The 821-foot-long ship, which was carrying military equipment, personnel and ammunition, was outbound from Okinawa when it somehow missed a turn and veered out of escaped the shipping lane, grounding hard on a bottom of coral reef and rock, the official said.

Navy officials were unable to say what declined to say what caused the mishap, which is still but said it is under investigation.

The Kocak displaces nearly 50,000 tons and is loaded down with equipment. On Friday, 7th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. William Marks said the ship would remain in place while divers do an assessment hull damageof the damage to the hull. The presence of coral means the Navy will have to take precautions to avoid any potential environmental damage.

The Kocak ran aground at about 11:30 a.m. local time Thursday on an ebb tide near the southern portion of the island, about six miles from shore and within view of the pier, according to Navy officials.

About David B. Larter

David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.

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