Tragic French trawler was NOT sunk by a British sub
Judge dismisses ‘wholly fanciful’ claim at inquest
THE sinking of a French trawler in the English Channel with the loss of five lives was not the fault of a Royal Navy submarine, an inquest ruled yesterday.
The fate of the Bugaled Breizh has been shrouded in mystery since it went down off the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall in January 2004.
It has long been suggested a submarine might have become entangled in the boat’s trawling gear, causing it to capsize.
But the inquest, held at London’s High Court, heard the relatively light damage to the vessel’s trawling gear made this unlikely.
Instead the vessel snagged the seabed with its equipment. Judge
Nigel Lickley QC, who acted as coroner, said: ‘The Bugaled Breizh had disappeared in a few minutes leaving very little behind. I can understand how thoughts can develop afterwards.’
Dutch, German and British submarines were operating in the English Channel that day but were ‘many miles away’ at the time of the sinking, the judge said.
‘I have no doubt that the fact a submarine was seen at the scene – doing nothing other than assisting in the search – caused speculation,’ he added.
‘For the avoidance of doubt, I am satisfied that no other identified Allied submarine of any type or class was in the area at the time.
So far as the idea still persists today, I reject it as wholly fanciful and unfounded.’
The bodies of skipper, Yves Marie Gloaguen, 45, and crew member Pascal Lucien Le Floch, 49, were found in the initial search and rescue operation and brought back to the UK.
The body of a third crewman, Patrick Gloaguen, 35, was found during a salvage operation to raise the trawler and was taken to France, meaning his death was not a subject of the inquest in London.
The two others on board,
Georges Lemetayer, 60, and Eric Guillamet, 42, were not found.
Judge Lickley also ruled out a collision with another vessel, a hard snag or mechanical failure.
He said: ‘I am satisfied the cause of the sinking was a soft snag of the trawl rig on the seabed, that in combination with other factors, caused the Bugaled Breizh to heel to port, take on water, move to starboard causing the crew quarters to flood and she sank rapidly.’
He gave the cause of death for Mr Le Floch and Mr Gloaguen as drowning by accident.