Sealand Government in exile established by Achenbach after the attempted 1978 coup, had used fake Sealandic diplomatic passports and number plates. They were reported to have sold 4,000 fake Sealandic passports to Hong Kong citizens for an estimated $1,000 each. Michael Bates stated in late 2016 that Sealand was receiving hundreds of applications for passports every day. In 2015, Bates asserted that Sealand's population is "normally like two people". 2006 fire On the afternoon of 23 June 2006, the top platform of the Roughs Tower caught fire due to an electrical fault. A Royal Air Force rescue helicopter transferred one person to Ipswich Hospital, directly from the tower. The Harwich lifeboat stood by the Roughs Tower until a local fire tug extinguished the fire. All damage was repaired by November 2006. Attempted sales In January 2007, The Pirate Bay, an online index of digital content of entertainment media and software founded by the Swedish think tank Piratbyrån, attempted to purchase Sealand after harsher copyright measures in Sweden forced them to look for a base of operations elsewhere. Between 2007 and 2010, Sealand was offered for sale through the Spanish estate company InmoNaranja, at an asking price of €750 million (£600 million, US$906 million). Death of founder Roy Bates died at the age of 91 on 9 October 2012; he had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years. His son Michael took over the operation of Sealand, although he continued to live in Suffolk, where he and his sons were operating a family fishing business called Fruits of the Sea. Joan Bates, Roy Bates's wife, died in an Essex nursing home at the age of 86 on 10 March 2016. Recognition Simon Sellars of The Australian and Red Bull describe Sealand as the world's smallest country, but Sealand is not officially recognised by any established sovereign state. Nonetheless, the Sealand government claims it has been de facto recognised by Germany, as the latter once sent a diplomat to Sealand. Legal status In 1987, the UK extended its territorial waters from . Sealand is now in British territorial waters. In the opinion of law academic John Gibson, there is little to no chance that Sealand would be recognized as a nation due to it being a man-made structure. Administration Irrespective of its legal status, Sealand is managed by the Bates family as if it were a recognised sovereign entity and they