Oregon docked with a dock,  Canada scored a Harley Davidson, seens likely that Australia received something from the tsunami.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/japanese-import-hits-oregon-158045315.html

Would these sorts of things be cast adrift on a regular basis?

freediver wrote on Jun 12^th, 2012 at 7:24pm:

Would these sorts of things be cast adrift on a regular basis?

Well no, and though I do understand that the Japanese had a lot of problems on their hands at the time, I can't help thinking it a bit irresponsible to allow a floating Japanese marine environment to sail off and bump into another continent.

Similar problems are occurring all the time with ships ballast I know. Can anything really practical be done or has the horse bolted?

freediver wrote on Jun 12^th, 2012 at 7:24pm:

Would these sorts of things be cast adrift on a regular basis?

Yeah its happened before when they've had their monsoons I think.
But the tsunami took A LOT of stuff out to sea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riNmxxd9nKw

Grey wrote on Jun 13^th, 2012 at 2:11am:

freediver wrote on Jun 12th, 2012 at 7:24pm: Would these sorts of things be cast adrift on a regular basis? Well no, and though I do understand that the Japanese had a lot of problems on their hands at the time, I can't help thinking it a bit irresponsible to allow a floating Japanese marine environment to sail off and bump into another continent. Similar problems are occurring all the time with ships ballast I know. Can anything really practical be done or has the horse bolted?

Wouldn't there be a lot of natural debris - eg logs that are mostly out of the water and dry and floaty, but with part in the water covered in barnacles - that would get washed off in these events, or floods?

freediver wrote on Jun 12^th, 2012 at 7:24pm:

Would these sorts of things be cast adrift on a regular basis?

Anything that is capable of floatation would be the obvious answer.

freediver wrote on Jun 13^th, 2012 at 7:07pm:

Grey wrote on Jun 13th, 2012 at 2:11am: freediver wrote on Jun 12th, 2012 at 7:24pm: Would these sorts of things be cast adrift on a regular basis? Well no, and though I do understand that the Japanese had a lot of problems on their hands at the time, I can't help thinking it a bit irresponsible to allow a floating Japanese marine environment to sail off and bump into another continent. Similar problems are occurring all the time with ships ballast I know. Can anything really practical be done or has the horse bolted? Wouldn't there be a lot of natural debris - eg logs that are mostly out of the water and dry and floaty, but with part in the water covered in barnacles - that would get washed off in these events, or floods?

Yes I imagine that's true. And yet problems have occured with marine life going feral a long way from home. As the oceans are all joined up you might think marine life would be pretty homogenous already. I wonder how much knowledge there is about the factors that enable/prevent the spread of marine life.