Inquest told no submarines near boat

THE naval police would have had “no hesitation” in investigating any possible military involvement in the sinking of a French fishing vessel “had the evidence pointed that way”, an inquest has heard.

On January 15, 2004, the Bugaled Breizh sank in otherwise favourable boating conditions off the coast of the Lizard Peninsula.

All five crew members died as a result of the boat going down. Two of the French nationals – skipper Yves

Marie Gloaguen, 45, and Pascal Lucien Le Floch, 49 – were taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital afterwards, and the inquest is considering only their deaths as a result. The body of a third man, Patrick Gloaguen, 35, was recovered but was taken to France, while the bodies of Georges Lemetayer, 60, and Eric Guillamet, 42, were never found.

Ever since the boat sank, the families of the sailors have demanded a proper investigation into the men’s deaths. They have maintained over the years that the sinking could have been caused by a submarine becoming caught in the ship’s nets - something the MoD has denied.

The inquest heard on Wednesday that the Royal Navy Police Special Investigation Branch (RNPSIB) would not have been blocked from investigating the potential involvement of British combat vessels.

Andrew Billings, a former commander who led the RNPSIB team investigating the sinking in co-operation with the French authorities, said he had found no evidence any submarine of any flag was within five nautical miles of the trawler.

He told the inquest he had been confined to investigating British involvement, but would have escalated concerns about foreign vessels if he had had any.

When asked by Judge Nigel Lickley QC what he would have done if there had been some military involvement, he said: “We would have investigated it.”

A senior naval officer, Commander Daniel Simmonds, previously told the inquest it would be “unthinkable” for a British or allied submarine crew to falsify records about a vessel’s location.

A Dutch submarine, the Dolfijn, is believed to have been the closest submarine, and was 12 nautical miles south of the Bugaled Breizh when it sank.

The inquest continues.