Nippon Salvage raised sunken tour boat Kazu I to the sea surface on May 26th off the Shiretoko Peninsula in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.
In the second attempt the salvage firm had used an undersea robot to put belts on the boat, which had descended 182 metres to the sea floor while being towed, still underwater. From the afternoon, the firm began pulling the vessel up toward the surface. The boat surfaced from the water after 18:50 local time. It was fixed to the Kaishin with ropes at around 19:10.
The salvage firm was going to tow the boat to shallow waters and lift it onto the barge. The boat arrived at the port of Abashiri on May 27, setting the stage for a full investigation into the cause of the accident that left 14 people dead and 12 missing.
The 19-ton Kazu I was scheduled to be brought ashore on May 29th after being drained. The wreck was covered with a blue tarpaulin off the Hokkaido town of Shari, while being transported to the port of Abashiri.
The Coast Guard is continuing to search for the 12 people unaccounted for using ships and planes.
