The U.S. Coast Guard is in the process of sinking an abandoned Japanese fishing vessel that drifted into American waters.

The ship is a casualty of last year's earthquake and tsunami and has been drifting in the Pacific since then.

The Coast Guard fired on the vessel with a 25 mm machine gun, setting it on fire, an official said.

Earlier, another vessel had expressed interested in salvaging the Japanese ship, but changed it's mind once they had a closer look at the damage.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) WALTER CADWALLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA FISHING VESSEL OWNER, SAYING:

"Somehow it had ruptured a fuel tank internally and there was fuel and oil from one end of the boat to the other."

The ship is part of the estimated 1.5 million tons of debris dragged out to sea by last year's tsunami.

Officials say most of the debris expected to hit the U.S. coastlines won't arrive until 2013 or later.

Julie Noce, Reuters