 After assessing the technical feasibility and environmental impact of raising "Ehime Maru" from the ocean bottom, the U.S. government, in June 2001, decided to proceed with recovering the ship from the ocean floor.The USN contracted the Dutch company Smit International and Crowley Maritime Corp., headquartered in Washington state, to salvage the wreck of "Ehime Maru".After consultation between the contractors, representatives from the Japanese government, and U.S. government officials, the decision was made not to raise "Ehime Maru" all the way to the surface but to lift and carry it underwater to shallow water near Oahu.