NEWPORT -- Beachcombers love shipwrecks. They always have.

More than 100 years after the

ran aground on the north coast, it still draws visitors by the thousands. Likewise, any time shifting sands reveal the

in Rockaway or the

near North Bend, onlookers swell to record sizes.

And so it is now with the unnamed dock from Japan that washed ashore at Agate Beach. Plans are underway to get it off the beach --and the sooner the better as far as the state is concerned.

More

But others say: Not so fast. They think the 132-ton, 66-foot-long concrete-and-metal mass might deserve a spot of its own on the maritime map of wrecks.

"People have seen it on TV all over the country," said Herb Goblirsch, a tuna fisherman and 34-year resident of Newport. "We heard from people who sidetracked from I-5 to look at it. If the Chamber of Commerce had thought to make a tourism attraction, I don't know how much better they could have done. It's like Keiko."

Certainly, no one is denying the dock's draw. From June 5 when it landed through Thursday, state parks workers tallied 14,833 cars at and around the Agate Beach parking lot. A more typical June showing for a week at the same beach is just over 2,000. And the visitors show little sign of stopping.

That has some people wondering if the state and city shouldn't be working to take advantage of what they fear may otherwise become a missed opportunity.

The Newport Chamber of Commerce reports receiving four times as many inquiries as it usually gets.

"I've heard so many different suggestions," said Lorna Davis, the chamber's executive director. "Each one holds its own challenge. People have suggested towing it in and using it as a sea lion dock or workable dock at the Port, both with historical marker in place. They've suggested dismantling it and saving a large piece to be moved to another location, such as a city park where it can be appropriately historically marked. They suggest cutting off a piece for one of our museums."

The Japan America Society of Oregon would like to see the dock reused in some way, preferably with an education and commemorative component, said Doug Smith, chair-elect of the Oregon chapter.

Springfield resident Lee Rothrock has written Newport officials suggesting they drag the dock up the beach to the high tidemark and fill it up with sand. "That's all you have to do to be sure it will never float again and it wouldn't be any bigger hazard to anyone who wanted to climb on it than the rest of the stuff that is on the beach full time."

But the state doesn't want the debris left permanently on the beach and has policies in place that say just that, said Chris Havel, spokesman for the Oregon Parks & Recreation Department. Even the Peter Iredale likely would have been removed if possible in 1906 when it ran ashore.

"They left the Peter Iredale because they didn't have a choice," Havel said. "We have a choice and it's not just that we are more technically capable. The choice before us is where do we want the beach to be in a 100 years and what choice do we need to make today?"

For now, it appears that choice will be to remove the dock. The state expects to award the contract to do that -- either by dismantling it or towing it away -- sometime next week.

Meanwhile, there's concern not only about the fate of the dock, but of those who come to see it. By day at low tide, state parks employees and volunteers keep guard.

"But our people leave at high tide and then we go by and see people swimming out to it, climbing on it, having pictures taken," said John Allen, state parks coastal region manager. "It's kind of strange. It's dangerous with the undertow, rip tides and the temperature of the water. People don't' realize hypothermia can set in within a few minutes."

Visitors also have vandalized the dock. They've stolen two inspection manhole covers from the top -- one was later returned. When the state placed "Keep Off" and "No Trespassing" signs, they stole those, too.

One guy even showed up with a tool box. At the time, a crew was removing stainless steel cleats from the dock, Allen said. "He said, 'You're taking those off?' We said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Oh I was going to take that.'"

Parks workers also had to call in state police because of people getting too rowdy or getting in confrontations with them.

But all that aside, people like Rothrock still think the state doesn't know what it's missing.

"If something like this happened in Florida," he said, "they'd put it on a concrete slab and turn it into shops and restaurants. I sure hope we can raise a cry among the public to persuade our officials to do the right thing, to see the value of this piece of world history as a permanent tourist attraction."

--