Sunken sightseeing boat Kazu 1 lifted onto barge

The Yomiuri Shimbun

8:46 JST, May 27, 2022

The sunken Japanese sightseeing boat Kazu 1 was lifted to the sea surface and placed on the deck of a barge off the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido, on Thursday.

The Kazu I, carrying 26 people, sank to a depth of about 115 meters on April 23. While being towed during salvage operations on Tuesday, the boat fell to a lower seabed at a depth of 182 meters.

The barge is expected to enter Abashiri Port in Abashiri, Hokkaido, a base of the salvage operations, as early as Friday.

Once the Kazu I is on land, authorities will investigate if there is any damage to the boat that may have caused it to sink.