Did a British sub send five fishermen to their deaths?
THE families of five trawlermen dragged to their deaths off the coast of Cornwall 12 years ago have won a major victory in their bid to establish the truth about the tragedy.
The sinking of the French trawler Bugaled Breizh has never been explained, despite claims by relatives of the five-man crew that the boat was accidentally sunk by a Royal Navy submarine. Now they have applauded the decision of a coroner to hold a five-day inquest – and accused Britain and France of conducting a complex cover-up.
A nine-year French inquiry proved inconclusive, and Thierry Lemetayer, the son of the trawler’s engineer Georges Lemetayer, who died in the incident, said: ‘I am hoping that Britain will do the job which was not done in France – and that we will finally have answers after all these years.’
A decision by judges to close the French inquiry in 2013, and their refusal to reopen it during an appeal last year, came despite an early conclusion that it was ‘highly probable’ the boat was dragged beneath the waves by a submarine that snagged its cables.
The families claim that the French and British navies staged a cover-up after the trawler sank, failing to admit to the close proximity of submarines during a Nato exercise. They believe the Bugaled Breizh was almost certainly sunk accidentally by a submarine from Britain, France, Russia or the US.
They hope that Cornish coroner Emma Carlyon will expand the scope of the inquiry into a so-called Article 2 inquest, which deals with deaths that could possibly be attributable to state activity. The Ministry of Defence has argued that extending the inquiry is unnecessary as it could account for all vessels taking part in the exercise that day.
The families’ QC, Julian Malins, who is acting pro bono, said: ‘This trawler went from sailing normally in calm waters to being underwater with everybody aboard dead within 37 seconds. It happened during a Nato submarine exercise. Yet the Navy has shown an apparent lack of curiosity to find out what happened.’
The Bugaled Breizh sank in broad daylight. Another fishing boat in the area heard a frantic radio message from her skipper shouting: ‘Come quickly. We are sinking.’
Three bodies have been recovered, but two are still lost.
Initially, French authorities claimed the trawler had been hit by a cargo vessel. However, the French families’ lawyers said evidence pointed to the Devonport-based nuclear submarine HMS Turbulent as the culprit. The Navy and Turbulent’s captain, Andy Coles, have always maintained that the submarine was in port in Plymouth when the tragedy occurred, and the French prosecutor accepted that.
Mr Lemetayer added: ‘I have nothing against Andy Coles, but I will be happy if he and others are questioned in detail and in public. We do not blame anybody because what happened was not deliberate, but we want to know the truth so we can lay our family members to rest.’