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Give fishermen all the facts on Pescado tragedy
Western Morning News
24th January 2004
The owner of the Pescado, which sank in one of the Westcountry's worst fishing disasters, yesterday put his weight behind calls for a full and open investigation into the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh.
Alan Ayres, co-owner of the South Devon fishing boat which sank with the loss of six lives in 1991, said all possible causes of the latest tragedy should be investigated.
He said: "I sincerely hope a thorough investigation is carried out and the families of the fishermen who died are given all the facts. There is certainly great suspicion over this one. Somebody somewhere will know exactly what happened, and when."
The Royal Navy yesterday insisted that a Dutch submarine was "nowhere near" the French trawler Bugaled Breizh when it sank with the loss of five lives off the Cornish coast last Thursday.
It also resisted growing pressure to order the submarine Dolfijn back into port for examination amid continuing speculation over what caused the trawler to sink.
An international military exercise involving submarines and warships was taking place off Cornish waters, when the Bugaled Breizh sank 14 miles off The Lizard. This, together with the fact that the Dolfijn was quickly on scene to help the search, has raised speculation.
Mr Ayres, who was initially charged but then cleared over the loss of life on the Pescado, has consistently maintained that the vessel was dragged to the bottom after snagging its nets on a submarine.
He said: "I have lived so close to something like this for so long. It just struck me right away with my painful knowledge of the sea."
He said if something on the surface caused the sinking, then surely the crew of a nearby vessel which raised the alarm, the Eridan, would have seen it.
"If the French raise the trawler I would like to go and look and see what the damage is. There may well be some interesting comparisons."
He pointed out that submarines had sophisticated equipment which meant the French trawler could not have sunk "unnoticed and unrecorded".
The team of French investigators hunting the vessel which allegedly rammed the Bugaled Breizh said the Dutch Dolfijn was "in close proximity" to the stricken trawler, but they still believe a cargo ship is the most likely culprit. But the Royal Navy yesterday reiterated that the Dolfijn was a substantial eight nautical miles away from the trawler when it sank. The submarine was in no way damaged and was still on exercise at a secret location. It had not planned to return to a Westcountry port. A spokesman said: "If there were any doubts about her condition she would not be on exercise. The Dolfijn was not involved - she was nowhere near."
The French acted quickly after the tragedy and sent a remotely-operated submarine down to the wreck. Investigators claim it has revealed evidence of a massive collision with a larger vessel caving in the starboard side of the bow.
They have also drawn up a list of cargo ships which may have been in the area.
Marine solicitor Charles Hattersley, from Plymouth law firm Foot Anstey Sargent, said the French authorities tended to be "very zealous" with their inquiries, but that it could prove very difficult to trace any cargo ships which might have been involved.
"It is not impossible that this was a genuine accident and that the vessel involved was so large that it did not realise there had been a collision," he said.
"If it was under the radar arc, in heavy seas and without a proper lookout on the bridge, it may have ploughed on without deviation."
The firm recently dealt with the case of a superyacht hit by a cargo vessel off Plymouth. Despite extensive investigations, the culprit proved impossible to trace. "It can be very difficult to trace the guilty parties," Mr Hattersley said.
Elizabeth Stevenson, of Newlyn fishing firm W Stevenson and Sons, said the fishing community needed answers to put an end to speculation. She said: "We want these questions answered quickly to prevent suspicion and speculation growing."
She knew of three trawlers working for the company in her lifetime which had had "contact" with submarines. These were the St Clair, the Algrie and the Cathryn. "One minute they were going along minding their own business fishing and the next they were going astern and, I think, listing quite badly," she said.
Jim Portus, chief executive of the South West Fish Producers' Organisation, said there were well-established protocols between the Navy and fishing vessels.
But it had taken "years and years" to conclude the Pescado case, and the French families deserved a "timely conclusion" where all the possibilities had been fully explored.
Those sentiments were echoed by the Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, Andrew George, who has raised parliamentary questions with the Ministry of Defence. He said yesterday: "It is important that answers are provided. From my conversations with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency it appears that there are no records of shipping or other larger vessel movements in that area during the early afternoon of Thursday, January 15.
"Even though the investigation is being led by the French authorities, it is important that the British Government co-operates fully. Fishermen and their families from all nations will want reassurance at this time."
At Bristol Crown Court in 1996, the Pescado's joint owner Joseph O'Connor was convicted of manslaughter. Mr Ayers was cleared. The hearing was given a catalogue of evidence about the poor state of the vessel that, the prosecution claimed, contributed to her going down
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