New satellite images of a vessel or object resembling the missing yacht Nina have been identified – raising crew families’ hopes of a resolution to the five-month Tasman Sea mystery.
The families of the seven crew members say they are not giving up hope that their loved ones are still alive and are calling on authorities to resume a search. But officials say they would need better-quality images before doing so.
Satellite technology captured images of what appears to be a boat drifting about 184 nautical miles west of Norfolk Island on September 15.
Raw images of the object were collected and measured and, according to family, showed that the vessel was the same size and shape as the Nina.
The Nina, carrying six Americans and a British man, set sail from the Bay of Islands in late May and was last heard from early in June.
Official searches for the yacht have stopped, but the families have enlisted the help of a US-based search and rescue organisation.
Robin Wright, mother of 19-year-old crew member Danielle Wright, said the new images were exciting.
“We have never lost hope that the crew of Nina is alive and well and that they will be rescued, but seeing that boat image is very exciting.
Read More: Ghost Ship Mystery New Zealand Herald
