While transiting the Shimonoseki Strait, Unicorn encountered overhead power cables sagging unusually low between Honshu and Kyushu after heavy snowfall. The ship received no warning that the safe clearance had changed. Her carrier-height superstructure struck and destroyed the cables, although the ship continued her work. The collision shows that an aviation ship's height could create port and confined-water hazards as serious as those caused by draft. It occurred during Unicorn's routine movement through Japanese waters while sustaining the Korean theater.
Notable Point · 58:48-59:15
Snow-sagged power cables catch Unicorn in the Shimonoseki Strait
Unwarned overhead cables damaged by heavy snow collide with the tall ferry carrier as she passes between Honshu and Kyushu.