6 May 2016

Plans to recover sunken boat abandoned

6:40 pm on 6 May 2016

A plan to bring to the surface a fishing boat that sank last October, causing the deaths of three people, has been abandoned and instead the wreck will be filmed underwater.

Terry Booth, Paul Bennett and Jared Husband all died when the Jubilee sank off the Canterbury coast.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission had contracted a salvage company to try to bring the Jubilee to the surface, for inspection by commission investigators.

The commission's chief investigator Captain Tim Burfoot said two attempts were made to move the Jubilee.

They would no longer attempt to bring the vessel to the surface because of deteriorating weather and sea conditions, and the risk of escalating costs.

A dive operation to film the boat is currently underway.