HONOLULU -- A University of Hawaii research ship is on station 5 miles south of Pearl Harbor, looking for underwater chemical munitions.

The ship left Snug Harbor at Sand Island early on Tuesday morning carrying two deep sea submersibles.

They will dive to the deep ocean floor off Pearl Harbor in an attempt to locate and identify chemical munitions that the military dumped in the ocean at the end of World War II.

Another site is in shallow water off Waianae.

The submersibles will take samples to determine any danger posed by the old chemical weapons. UH scientists will report back on their mission later this week.

Military officials are working to assess, inspect and monitor the munitions. Any disposal or removal would come much later, they said.