the ship was christened "sado" and launched from the port city of niigata on the sea of japan coast. the 90 meter long patrol ship can reach speeds of nearly 40 kilometers per hour. it's equipped with a crane to load supplies and has space to carry relief supplies or evacuees. it has two rubber life boats and two rescue boats. a filtration system removes salt from sea water to produce drinking water. >> translator: the crew will take part in daily drills, so in the event of an emergency we can make full use of the ship. >> the head of the niigata coast guard office says that in the event of a tsunami or other disaster, he hopes the "sado" responds quickly, making it a guardian of the sea of japan. >>> u.s. researchers say arctic ice has hit a record low for winter. two scientific institutions estimated the total area of sea ice this season. it was the lowest figure since 1979, when such records began to be kept. the u.s. national snow and ice data center and nasa based the estimate on satellite data. they say the total area peaked at 14.5 million square kilometers. that's 130,000 squ