Toshifumi Kitamura/Agence France-PresseResidents of Otsuchi, in Iwate Prefecture, watch cranes lift the sightseeing catamaran Hamayuri from the top of an inn.Photos of compelling cars are nothing new to the Automobiles section. But the shot of a Mitsubishi i-MiEV in a tsunami-struck town in Japan, which ran in Sunday’s Automobiles section, was arresting because, about one block away from the electric vehicle, a two-story building was topped by a boat.
The photo vividly illustrated the scale of the destruction and the power of the tsunami, and led several readers to wonder what would happen to the boat.
As it turns out, some residents of the seaside town, Otsuchi, in Iwate Prefecture, wanted to keep the boat — a passenger vessel called the Hamayuri, which was used to ferry sightseers — where it was as a monument. But the owners of the boat were afraid that it might cause further damage.
So this week, several huge cranes took the Hamayuri off the top of the building, which was an inn. According to authorities on the scene, it will take a month to disassemble and repair the vessel.
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Slide Show: 2011 New York Auto Show
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