Tag Archives: commander Andrew Coles
UK inquest finds submarine did not cause 2004 sinking of French trawler
The judge Nigel Lickley QC, who has overseen an inquest on the tragedy, ruled that the French trawler F/V Bugaled Breizh sank after its fishing gear snagged on the seabed, causing it to heel – tip to one side – and take in water. Relatives of the men lost in the tragedy have long believed the boat sank after a submarine became tangled in its fishing gear, and they saw the inquest in London as a last chance to get to what they believe is the truth. The judge said he believed that the sinking, on 15 January 2004, was a fishing accident. >click to read< 22:15
Results of probe into French trawler tragedy due in weeks
The conclusions of a British inquest into the 2004 sinking of a French trawler, which killed five people, will be delivered on November 5, the coroner said on Thursday. Judge Nigel Lickley has been hearing evidence since early October about how the Bugaled Breizh sank suddenly off Cornwall, southwest England, despite good weather. The bodies of two of the fishermen who died were recovered by British search and rescue teams. Lawyers for the victims’ families maintain that a submarine on exercises in the area at the time could have struck the boat and pulled it down. >click to read< 14:25
Inquest into Bugaled Breizh deaths sunk off Lizard coast of Cornwall
The Bugaled Breizh went down on January 15, 2004 off the Lizard Peninsula in favourable conditions, with no apparent defects to the vessel. The possibility a submarine may have become entangled in the trawling gear and dragged the vessel under has been proposed since it sank. But an inquest at the High Court heard on Thursday that the system of wires, chains, weights and nets that made up the trawling rig was found relatively intact on the seabed. >click to read< 08:44
Inquest: No evidence British submarine sank French trawler in 2004
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 Ministry of Defence 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. >click to read< 07:51
UK sub ‘not involved’ in 2004 French trawler tragedy
A British military submarine linked to the sinking of a French fishing trawler nearly 18 years ago had nothing to do with the incident, the UK vessel’s former captain said Tuesday, sparking fury from victims’ relatives. The families of the five crew members who died on the Bugaled Breizh on January 15, 2004 are hoping an inquest at the High Court in London will confirm their view that the boat was pulled down by the British submarine HMS Turbulent. But the Turbulent’s former commander Andrew Coles said the nuclear vessel was docked on the day of the tragedy. “We definitely weren’t involved,” he told the hearing in London, echoing other witness testimony at the hearing. >click to read< 16:17
