Did a sub sink this trawler? - Bugaled Breizh

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Courtesy of ThisIsCornwall @ http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/homepagenews/DID-SUB-SINK-TRAWLER/article-1249541-detail/article.html

Did a sub sink this trawler?
Thursday, August 13, 2009, 10:00

THE Royal Navy is likely to be questioned over the deaths of five French fishermen when their trawler sank off the Cornish coast more than five years ago.

It has been confirmed Cornwall's coroner Dr Emma Carlyon is preparing an inquest into the tragedy of the Bugaled Breizh, which capsized off the Lizard on January 15, 2004.

Two French investigating judges who probed the accident for more than four years ruled that there was no guilty party. But the inquest on British soil is likely to rekindle allegations that a nuclear attack submarine was involved in the accident.

Relatives of the dead fishermen have repeatedly claimed the Bugaled Breizh fell victim to a submarine which became entangled in its trawl cables and pulled it under in less than a minute.

Military activity, involving several nations, was going on in the area at the time as Nato vessels were participating in the regular "Thursday War" exercise.

The French judges, investigating charges of manslaughter and failing to assist persons in danger, stated it was likely the vessel sank as a result of an accident with an unknown submarine.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that no Royal Navy submarine was involved in the loss of Bugaled Breizh, and that it has co-operated fully with all investigations.

The British inquest is possible because the bodies were recovered in Cornwall.

Andrew George, Lib-Dem MP for St Ives and West Cornwall, has pressed the Government on what it knows, and welcomed the development.

Asked whether the MoD should be called to give evidence at the inquest, he said: "I suspect they would be keen to. They gave as much information as they could in their responses to me. They seemed keen to want to demonstrate their innocence in all of this, and seemed concerned that the finger of blame was being pointed in their direction. I would hope the Ministry of Defence would be willing to co-operate fully in any inquiry."

The Western Morning News understands any inquest is likely to be months away. Preparations are thought to be under way to request documents from the French authorities who carried out the rigorous investigation. Once paperwork has arrived, a list a witnesses could be drawn up and an official date set.

As part of the preparations, the WMN received a request from the coroner's office for photographs showing the damage caused to the Bugaled Breizh.

Two of the five bodies were recovered after the tragedy and the body of a third crew member was discovered when the ship was raised from the sea bed. A number of theories have been put forward, but the French judges concluded the fishing boat was "most probably" sunk by a high-speed submarine.

Last year, a submarine expert produced a detailed report which concluded that a nuclear attack submarine was the "highly probable cause" of the tragedy.

In 2007, then Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram dismissed French claims that the British submarine HMS Turbulent snagged the Breton trawler. In a letter to Mr George, Mr Ingram said a leaked Nato document quoted in a French book which claimed to prove that the Turbulent was at sea at the time of the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh, and not in Devonport, as the Navy and the MoD claimed, was out of date.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said yesterday: "The Royal Navy provided unprecedented co-operation to the exhaustive French investigation which was unambiguous about the cause of the accident. We fully appreciate that the families involved want final closure as to how their loved ones were lost, but it does the families no justice to use a Nato berthing plan which was two months out of date by the time of the incident to suggest alternative causes."

The French and Dutch navies have also denied any involvement.

Mr George said the families of the dead Breton fishermen would be "heartened if an inquest got closer to truth of what happened".

"My indirect discussions with them would suggest they are keen to follow this through," he said. "The French investigation