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Pier Seawall Under Construction in Japan

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS040129-07

Release Date: 1/29/2004 5:19:00 AM

By Journalist 1st Class (SW) R. Scott Sutherland, Navy Construction Battalion 5 Public Affairs

OKINAWA ISLAND, Japan (NNS) -- The Navy is protecting one of its important port facilities on Okinawa Island against high tides by using members of its construction force to build a protective seawall.

Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 are lending construction support to Commander, Fleet Activities Okinawa at the Chimu Wan Base Terminal and Tengan Pier, a port on the Pacific Ocean side of the island that can accommodate up to 20,000-ton class Navy ships. The site is also a popular off-base spot for surfers and swimmers.

According to construction crew leader Builder 1st Class Michael Harter, about 30 Seabees are doing excavation, land clearing and concrete placement, which will lead to the erection of a 10-foot high protective barrier along the port's waterfront.

"Using concrete and wood, we're putting up the seawall fence on both sides of the pier," said Harter. "We have a motivated crew here, and there's a lot of concrete involved."

The Seabees are working alongside Okinawan Nationals to complete the work. It's scheduled completion date is early June, close to the time when "The Professionals" hope to finish their deployment period and head to their homeport in Port Hueneme, Calif. June is also the beginning of typhoon season. The season runs through November, with August to October being the most intense.

"This project is scheduled for the whole time we're on deployment," said Harter, "so we'll see how it progresses."

The Tengan port facility is important to the Navy, because ships take on ammunition while they're docked along the mile-long pier.

Besides providing the shoreline reinforcement to protect the port and its ammunition-staging yard, Seabees are completing work on a security fence.

The location of the pier has biological and historical significance. Located in Tengan Bay, this particular area offers one of the highest concentrations of marine life found anywhere in this region. The seaplane base at Chimu Wan was established in July 1945 during the buildup of forces on Okinawa for the invasion of the Japanese home islands. The last wartime operational flights made by the Navy's bomber squadrons were made from this location. The base was disestablished after it was destroyed by typhoons in September and October 1945.

Hopefully, with the work the Seabees are doing at the Tengan pier, history won't repeat itself with another typhoon knocking out important U.S. interests on the island.