On Friday 25 November 2022, a lower court found diver Arthur Castillo, 60, guilty of the involuntary homicide of his long-time dive buddy Christine Gauci, who died following a dive in Mgarr ix-Xini, a bay on the southern coast of Gozo in January 2020. Gauci was an Armed Forces of Malta member, diving instructor and technical diver.

In a ruling that caused outrage in the diving community, the lower court handed Castillo a two-year jail term suspended for four years, which was immediately appealed.

The 144-foot Nucleus had a “checkered past” after previously sinking twice, and once rammed and sank another boat on Lake Huron, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum said in a news release announcing the discovery.

This is a pretty significant shipwreck…considering its age, the fact that it is a barquentine and we can’t overlook the vessel’s checkered past. The wreck site is littered with shovels too…and a few dinner plates, which speaks to their work and shipboard life.

Shipwreck Society Executive Director, Bruce Lynn