A huge metal sphere which washed up on a beach in Japan has been removed. ."I think everyone in Hamamatsu City was worried and curious about what it was about, but I'm relieved that the work is over," a local official told BBC News on Thursday. .A heavy lifting machine picked up the sphere. Local officials in Hamamatsu, Japan, said it would be stored for a certain period of time before being disposed of. .The metal ball which washed up on shore confused people and started a flurry of speculation when it was pointed out Wednesday. .READ MORE: KONNICHI-WHA—?: Mystery sphere found on Japanese beach.Authorities could not say what it was, and the police and bomb squad had not been sent in to investigate. .What is known is the object is hollow and not a threat. Many people suspected it to be some type of buoy. .Authorities cordoned off the area and conducted x-ray exams, which did not reveal much other than confirm the object was safe. .Hamamatsu's local civil engineering office said it "considers it to be a foreign-made buoy.” .Scottish Association for Marine Science oceanographer Mark Inall said he knew what it was right away. ."It's very recognizable," said Inall. ."We use (them) to keep instruments floating in the ocean.".Inall said the objects often wash up on the coast of Scotland. While he was surprised the sphere was not identified sooner, he acknowledged people would not have known what it was.."It could be confused for a World War 2 mine, but those would have spikes sticking out of them," he said..He said these objects can float in the ocean for decades, lose their markings, and become rusty when they wash ashore. The buoys can break free from their anchorage either in a violent storm or from being pulled by a big fishing vessel. ."Given the recent events, I could understand there's an interest in an unidentified floating object," he said.
