A work boat capsized on Oura Bay at the site of a future U.S. Marine Corps airfield for Camp Schwab, Okinawa, on May 16, 2025. (Japan coast guard)
Two workers were rescued Thursday after a small construction vessel overturned at the site of a future Marine Corps airfield in northern Okinawa, according to Japan’s coast guard.
The transport and work boat capsized at 2:11 p.m., while securing a barge with ropes to anchors installed on the shore and seabed near Cape Henoko, the coast guard said in a news release that day. The boat has a carrying capacity of less than 5 tons.
A spokesman for the Okinawa Defense Bureau confirmed by phone Friday that the vessel was supporting the new airfield’s construction. A coast guard spokesman said the boat was operating northeast of Cape Henoko, though he did not know how far from shore it was located.
Some Japanese government officials speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
The two crew members had been connecting a rope attached to a seabed anchor with another rope extending from the rear-right side of the barge, according to the coast guard release. The rope became caught on a second anchor on the barge and entangled with the boat, causing it to capsize when it was pulled by the seabed anchor.
Both crew members, who were wearing life jackets, were uninjured and were rescued by workers aboard nearby vessels, the release said. The coast guard was notified of the incident at 2:30 p.m.
The capsized boat was lifted onto shore by a crane ship around 5:30 p.m., the release said. A containment boom was deployed around the area to control a minor oil spill, which was contained by approximately 7 p.m.
No environmental damage was reported, and the incident is under investigation, the coast guard spokesman said.
Thursday’s accident follows four previous oil spills this year involving construction vessels at the site. The most recent occurred on May 8, when oil leaked during a transfer between tanks.
The new airfield is being built on reclaimed land in Oura Bay to replace Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, a densely populated city.
The relocation was agreed upon by the U.S. and Japanese governments in 1996 but has faced ongoing legal challenges from the Okinawa prefectural government.
