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Posted: Thursday, September 20th, 2012 9:00 AM HST

Hawaii probes whether plastic bin tsunami-related

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — State and federal officials are trying to determine whether a large blue plastic storage bin bearing the name of a Japanese seafood company is the first confirmed piece of marine debris from last year's tsunamis to arrive in Hawaii. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said Wednesday the four-foot cube is used to transport seafood. The name Y.K. Suisan Co. Ltd. is written on the side. The company has offices in Miyagi prefecture, one of the places hit by tsunamis generated when a magnitude 9-earthquake struck off Japan last year. Makai Ocean Engineering staff spotted the bin floating in the ocean off Waimanalo on Tuesday. The Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory retrieved the bin. Scientists say no alien species were found in or on the bin.