The 96-nmi transit to Kochi, Japan, began at 1718 hr on 27 May and ended at 1118 hr on 28 May. Since the local port authorities would not allow the vessel into the harbor before 1130 hr, the harbor pilot was aboard at 1126 hr, and the first line ashore was at 1230 hr. After customs and immigration formalities were completed at 1345 hr, 20 scientific staff members departed and nine boarded the ship. The afternoon was filled with public tours for local television stations, newspapers, government officials, Kochi University officials, and university students. Nearly 100 people toured the ship.
At 1345 hr, we began offloading the LWD/MWD tools, 10 joints of 20-in casing, 30 joints of 10.75-in casing, a broken mud motor, a 22-in underreamer, a broken air conditioner compressor, and three-dimensional seismic computer work stations. Equipment loaded included food, scientific equipment for the ACORK and thermistor experiments, 64 joints of 4.5-in casing, nine external casing packers, 11 joints of 10.75-in screened casing, two ROV platforms, one replacement mud motor (Drilex 7.75 in), inner core barrels, ten 0.75-in casing centralizers, four 0.5-in casing centralizers, one 30-ft knobby drill pipe, one 20-ft knobby drill pipe, one tapered drill collar, one pup joint of 16-in casing, one 16-in casing hanger, and a few steel I-beams. Loading/offloading operations were completed at 0330 hr on 29 May, and the equipment and casing were stored and secured for departure.