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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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