Salvage Workers To Attempt To Lift Again Sunken Tour Boat On Thursday
A salvage firm is set to make a second attempt on Thursday at raising a sunken tour boat from the seabed, off Shiretoko Peninsula in Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido.
On Monday, salvage workers lifted the "KAZU I" sightseeing boat from the seabed at a depth of 120 meters, reaching almost to the surface.
But on Tuesday, the boat fell back down to the seabed 11 kilometers to the west of Utoro Port in the town of Shari, when it was being towed by a barge.
The vessel was later confirmed to be lying on the seabed at a depth of about 180 meters. No major damage was detected.
On Wednesday, the salvage firm dropped an unmanned undersea robot into the sea to make preparations to again try to raise the boat.
Firm officials said two of the five belts attached to the boat had been cut, and they used the robot to replace them with thicker, more durable ones.
The firm plans to pull the vessel up toward the surface and attach it to the barge on Thursday. It will then tow the boat to shallow waters and lift it onto the barge.
The company plans to unload the vessel at Abashiri Port as early as Friday.