Tag Archives: France
Daniel Rigolet: the inventor of the survival suit
Although he was not well known, it is interesting to look back at the life of this man who saved many lives at sea. Born in the Paris region in 1930, Daniel Rigolet was already a seasoned sailor and oil tanker captain in 1971 when he came up with the idea of the survival suit. After starting out as a midshipman in sardine fishing, he trained until he reached the position of captain. That year, the tragic sinking of the cargo ship Maori in the Bay of Biscay occurred. Out of a total of 39 sailors, only one survived. He was saved from the cold November waters by the idea of putting on his diving suit. By keeping him warm, it saved his life. photos, >click to read< 07:55
The Bugaled Breizh, sunk in 2004, will leave the Brest arsenal to be dismantled
On January 15, 2023, it will be nineteen years since the trawler Bugaled Breizh of Loctudy (Finistère), sank in less than a minute off Cape Lizard (United Kingdom), a shipwreck that had resulted in the death of the five sailors on board. Since July 2004 and the refloating of the ship for the purposes of the investigation, the wreck is stored out of sight on the naval military base of Brest. Legal proceedings are extinguished on both sides of the Channel. In France, a dismissal order was issued and confirmed in 2016. In Great Britain, the justice concluded in 2021 to a fishing accident to explain the sinking. A thesis firmly refuted by relatives of the victims, who maintain that a submarine would be at the origin of this fatal shipwreck. photos, external links, >click to read< 15:46
The Porcher Fleet Continues to Grow
Aventurine was built in less than a year by the shipyard in Boulogne for its loyal customer in Côtes-d’Armor. It will be based in Saint-Brieuc, also its port of registry. With an 25 metre overall length and an 8 metre beam, the new trawler has a steel hull, aluminium superstructure and seven winches. Propulsion is provided by a CAT3512C main engine driving a France Helice HPV 804G variable pitch propeller. The new trawler’s skipper, Antoine Porcher, 26 years old and grandson of the company’s owner Jean Porcher, appreciates the innovations that have gone into Aventurine. Video, photos, >click to read< 16:47
A Journey with French Fishermen
Usually, a crew consists of three to four people. The captain, who is frequently the owner of the fishing boat, is the oldest and most experienced. There are often also a few very young crew members. Many Senegalese fishermen find work on the boats. . In particular, I spent a lot of time with the crew of the fishing boat le Petit Maylise. I met Benoit first. It was a Friday morning, a day dedicated to repairing the boat and nets after days at sea. I saw a solitary silhouette from afar, bent over the nets, bathed in the soft light of rare sunny days in Normandy. The scene had something extremely spiritual about it. I introduced myself to Benoit and immediately got a great feeling from him. Then I met the other crew members: the captain, Jean Philippe; Aurielen; and young Mathis and Dylan. Photos, >click to read< 13:46
Fishermen warn Jersey’s marine industry ‘cannot survive’ without assistance
Jersey‘s fishing industry is at risk as long-standing fishermen leave the job, saying they simply ‘cannot survive anymore’. In the last few years, the fleet has dropped from around 60 to 30 boats, and some have even moved to the UK where they can make more money. Fishermen blame ongoing tensions with France over licences and the rising cost of bait and fuel for the industry now reaching ‘crisis point’. Video, >click to read< 08:48
Fiber-optic Submarine Cable near Faroe and Shetland Islands Damaged; Mediterranean Cables also Cut
Last week the SHEFA-2 undersea cable linking the Faroe Islands to mainland Scotland via the Shetland and Orkney Islands was damaged in two separate incidents leaving much of the islands without internet connection. In the south of France three key subsea cables connecting the city of Marseille to Lyon, Milan, and Barcelona were purposely cut, the cable’s operator reported, impacting internet connectivity worldwide. While French authorities suspect an act of sabotage, their Scottish counterparts remain more cautious about what caused the damage to the cables. Similar to the Svalbard cable incidents, in which Russian fishing vessels passed repeatedly over the areas where the cables were located, police investigating the Faroe and Shetland incidents suggested that it was likely fishing vessels, which damaged the cables. >click to read< 09:19
New Scalloper/Trawler for Le Havre
With a length of 11.98 metres and a breadth of 6 metres, Pierre Becquet’s new fishing boat was launched on 13th July at Locmiquélic in Morbihan. It will be delivered in August to the port of Le Havre, where the owner already runs the P’tit Pierre (ex-Tigrou), built in 2005 by the same yard as P’tit Gabin, Chantiers Navals Bernard. It is expected be ready and operational before the next scallop season. Photos, >click to read< 11:42
Privatizing the sea: How private corps stole the sea from the commons
Since 1945, when the US unilaterally asserted ownership of the continental shelf and parts of the high seas around its shores, much of the ‘blue commons’ has been converted into private property. In 1982, UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) endorsed the biggest enclosure in history, granting countries exclusive economic zones (EEZs) that extended 200 nautical miles from their coastlines. This set in train procedures and institutional mechanisms that have expanded privatisation and financialisation to all parts of the marine economy. It also cemented neocolonialism, granting ex-imperial countries such as the US, France and the UK millions of square miles around lands far from their shores — their so-called ‘overseas territories’. >click to read< 09:18
French and Jersey fishermen meet for first time since Harbour blockade
The meeting this month was the first since Norman and Breton fishing vessels blockaded the Harbour in May last year in a protest over post-Brexit fishing rights. Relations deteriorated to such an extent last summer that the UK sent two naval vessels to Jersey in response to the blockade and some French politicians threatened to cut off the Island’s electricity supply. The president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, Don Thompson, said the meetings were an important first step in improving relations with their French counterparts. ‘We invited the French fishermen and representatives to Jersey for this first meeting,’ Mr Thompson said. ‘We are working for solutions. Typical of fishermen, the meeting was very forthright. We got right to the point and did not hold back.’ >click to read< 10:20
Euronor Continues Fleet Renewal
The last remaining deep-sea fishing company in Boulogne, Euronor has invested nearly €14 million in the renewal of its fleet by buying and converting former Faroese Lerkur (Built 1999) and Rokur (Built 2000). The two vessels of 38 metres were both built at the Karstensen shipyard in Denmark. Its conversion complete, Fisher Bank (ex-Lerkur) started its first fishing trip on 1st June. ‘We have already completed two trips and it is promising. The fish are of good quality and things are going well,’ said Eurnor managing director Bruno Leduc. The conversion of the second vessel, Otter Bank (ex-Rokur), was a few weeks behind, and it was expected to be complete at the end of June. photos, >click to read< 09:15
That Was Quick!: French Navy backs down from West Cork fishermen
Simon Coveney confirms French navy will stay outside of Irish waters during their upcoming exercises having come under pressure from West Cork fishermen. The French Navy were planning a huge exercise – involving missile tests – off our southwest coast later this week and it was set to be even bigger than the one the Russians had to postpone earlier this year. However, as the Russians found out, the French Atlantic fleet had to reckon with Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, with their headquarters in Castletownbere. >click to read< 17:15
Irish fishermen who faced down Russians now to protest against French navy’s military drills
Irish fishermen confirmed they are to mount major protests off the south-west coast in a bid to prevent the French navy staging military exercises later this month in important fishing grounds. The protests will mirror the demonstrations planned by west Cork fishermen last January to disrupt planned military exercises by the Russian navy in fishing waters off the south-west coast. French naval forces are planning an exercise for June 23-25,,, “The Albacore tuna fishery is opening for Irish vessels on June 23,,, >click to read< 07:35
Channel fishermen protest to ban supertrawlers, fly-shooters
Fishermen from the UK and France have met in the English Channel to protest against industrial fishing practices. Boats from Dover, Rye, Newhaven and Boulogne-sur-mer gathered in the Bassurelle Sandbank marine protected area. They called for politicians to ban supertrawlers and fly-shooting from protected Channel waters. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said vessels must follow UK sustainability rules. >click to read< 12:33
Wooden Hull Scalloper built in Paimpol
‘For me, a boat is made of wood. That’s what I prefer,’ said Normandy fisherman Lilian Guadebois, who has been skipper for eleven years. Sainte-Thérèse was launched in Paimpol at the end of January, after eighteen months of work. This 11.98 metre long, 6.55 metre beam shellfish vessel will be worked with a crew of four to fish for scallops in the Bay of Seine. To build this new vessel, which will be based in Honfleur (Calvados), the young 
skipper turned to Fabien Hémeury’s yard in Kerpalud. ‘The boat is made from 100% French oak because we want to support the local timber industry,’ said Fabien Hémeury, who works with a team of six carpenters. According to him, wooden newbuilds are coming back into fashion, particularly because of their long-term solidity. Excellent photo gallery, >click to read< 17:41
French fisherman won’t pay for British Brexit failure
Since the beginning of the year, Britain and France have been at odds about post-Brexit fishing licences for UK seas. The talks are still ongoing, but both parties have threatened to take action, and mistranslations haven’t helped matters. If they obtain a discretionary permit issued by Britain, French fishermen may continue to fish between six and 12 miles off the UK shore and off Guernsey and Jersey until 2026 under the Brexit trade and cooperation agreement (TCA). >click to read< 08:44
Canada and France reach agreement with total allowable catch rollover of 3Ps cod
Today, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Joyce Murray, announced that an agreement has been reached with France regarding 3Ps cod for the 2022-23 fishing season. Both countries intend to roll over the current total allowable catch (TAC) of 1,346 tonnes. Canada and France (in respect of Saint Pierre and Miquelon) co-manage fish stocks, including cod, in the 3Ps zone off the south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Under the Procès-Verbal Agreement, the two countries meet annually to negotiate management measures, including the TAC of these shared stocks in the North Atlantic. >click to read< 20:35
Four of a Kind! Scalloper Quartet for Normandy Fishermen
A group of French fishermen from Ouistreham followed the example of their colleagues along the coast in Cherbourg and went to a Turkish shipbuilder to order four identical scalloper/trawlers, which were built in only eight months to be shipped to France. Designed by French company Archi Delion, the 13.44 metre by 6.40 metre breadth vessels are designed primarily for scalloping but will also pursue other fisheries outside the scallop season. Photos, video, >click to read< 09:12
Fuel: in Lorient, the trawler Le Dolmen will not go to sea for glory
The war in Ukraine is yet to impact fully on the price of diesel fuel in the UK. Handline, inshore and gillnetters burn considerably less fuel than trawlers and even more so than beam trawlers – the biggest of which can typically consume somewhere in the region of £3,000 per day in red diesel – which means the expenses alone for a trip could exceed well over 50%. In Cornwall, CFPO are telling its members that, they’re very aware of the rising fuel costs & the toll this is taking on the fleet. Discussions between @GOVUK and industry are taking place. This Friday, @NFFO_UK will hold an emergency Executive Committee meeting on this issue. French fishermen are already reacting to the increase in their fuel costs as this translated story testifies. Video, >click to read< 12:35
Atomic Attraction: Wind Power’s Abject Failure Forces Europe to Embrace Nuclear Power
To call Europe’s rapid embrace of nuclear power ‘passionate’ is not overstatement. Much to the horror of wind and solar acolytes, a growing number of EU members are ready to declare nuclear power is not only clean and green, but wholly sustainable. Wind and solar-obsessed Germans and Brits are watching power prices go into orbit and the pro-renewables camp has been forced to grapple with months-long wind droughts when so-called ‘green’ energy couldn’t be bought at any price. Necessity may well be the mother of invention, but the stark realisation that wind power output can collapse for days and weeks on end is certainly the mother of a renewed attraction to nuclear power. >click to read< 11:16
Brittany fishing company La Houle builds for the future
Brittany fishing company La Houle has been facing a case of invest or die, according to managing director Jacques Pichon, and a new addition marks the start of renewed investment in its fleet. The new trawler has raised a few eyebrows in St Guénolé, as its design is a departure from the usual French layout for vessels in this size bracket. La Houle went to Danish designer and shipbuilder Vestværft for its new trawler. Behind this decision is also La Houle’s ownership with Irish shareholders, including Niall Deasy who already runs two Vestværft-built trawlers of his own. photos, >click to read< 12:19
France wants EU to start legal case against UK
Speaking on Friday, Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune told reporters that France had obtained 93% of the post-Brexit fishing licenses it claims the UK should have granted to its trawlers. According to Maritime Minister Annick Girardin, who spoke alongside Beaune, France was still pushing for a further 73 licenses to fish in British waters. Paris says it will not drop its protests until all of the outstanding licenses are granted. >click to read< 13:30
French minister says, We still want a ‘few dozen’ more fishing licences
France has received 93% of the fishing licences it requested but wants Britain to issue a few dozen more, It comes after the UK and Jersey Governments on Saturday granted further licences to French fishing boats in an apparent attempt to resolve the long-running dispute over their post-Brexit rights to trawl British waters, and as technical talks over several more vessels continue. “We still have a few dozen to obtain, around 60. We are looking at every file that remains. We will not let down any of these fishermen.” >click to read< 14:36
EU deadline in UK-France fishing row set to expire
An EU deadline for Britain to grant licences to dozens of French fishing boats is set to expire today, with Paris threatening legal action unless a last-minute compromise can be found. France says that 104 of its boats still lack licences to operate in British and Channel Island waters that should have been granted under a Brexit deal Britain signed with the European Union in December last year. Britain denies discriminating,,, >click to read< 11:49
‘French fishermen want direct talks with Jersey’
Chris Le Masurier, of the Jersey Oyster Company, who delivered produce to St Malo yesterday, said that the fishers were protesting against the political process going through the EU and UK rather than being settled locally.,, ‘I was delayed for an hour because I was allotted a slot at the time of the protest, which was at 8am. I was skippering the vessel. After that I moved alongside one of the French boats for a chat. I spoke to Pascal Lecler, the chairman of the fisheries committee in Brittany. He said that he wanted me to pass a message to the Jersey government and that was to come and talk directly with Normandy and Brittany. He gave me a Breton flag and I then dropped off all my seafood and returned to the Island,’ >click to read< 08:39
French fisherman blockading British ships over Brexit licenses
French fisherman have blockaded British ships after feeling ‘humiliated’ by Britain over post-Brexit operating licences. The fisherman lined their boats across the entrance to St Malo port from dawn to stop the British Normandy Trader getting into the Brittany port from Jersey. The disgruntled men aim to target ferries arriving in Ouistreham and Calais,,, Pascal Lecler, one of the fishermen said: “We’re hostage to politics. It doesn’t make us happy to be here, but it can’t go on.’ >click to read< 07:45
French fisherman fear Paris is ready to surrender to the UK over access to British waters
France’s Maritime Minister Annick Girardin said French fisherman who have not been given a licence by the UK will get up to 60million euros (£50million) to cover their lost earnings. But the French skippers have lashed out at the plans, accusing the government of ‘abandoning them’ and ‘lowering its pants’ to Britain over the post-Brexit fishing row. They also accused France of admitting defeat, despite Girardin insisting that the government will continue its ‘fight every day’ to get 150 post-Brexit fishing licences Paris claims it is still short of. >click to read< 09:41
COP That Wind & Solar: Nuclear Power Drives French Renewables Resistance
The French already get more than 70% of their power from nuclear plants. Now, thanks to a massive month-long wind power output collapse, that proportion is destined to increase. Following Europe’s ‘disastrous’ wind drought, that saw wind power output plummet throughout most of September and into October, and early November, the need for reliable power was never more keenly felt. Eager to avoid being locked into Russian gas supplies, like his German neighbours, French President, Emmanuel Macron has decided to reverse France’s policy of winding down its nuclear power generation fleet in favour of wind and solar, backed up with costly to run gas-fired plants. >video, click to read< 18:00
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
Impounded fishing trawler docks in Shoreham – Donegal skipper thanks supporters
The scallop dredger Cornelis Gert Jan left Le Havre on Wednesday after being held there since last week, when France accused it of fishing in its waters without a proper licence. “We are pleased to have this matter resolved and delighted that our crew and vessel are now able to return home. The crew have acted with calmness and professionalism throughout the entire incident. photos, >click to read< Donegal skipper ay centre of fishing row thanks supporters – In a message to west Donegal independent councillor, Micheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig, Mr Ward said: “Just busy now trying to get all ready to get to sea. “Please tell everyone at home that I am so grateful for all their messages and support.” >click to read< 09:51
France lets UK fishing trawler depart – Vessel reappears on licensed list amid claims of an admin error
A director of a British fishing trawler that was impounded by French authorities in a row over post-Brexit fishing rights, said he was relieved the vessel had been allowed to leave and would set off for home later. The Scottish-registered scallop dredger, the Cornelis-Gert Jan, had been held in Le Havre. >click to read< – British Trawler detained in fishing row reappears on licensed list amid claims on admin error – When the Cornelis-Gertjan was detained last week the owners claimed their vessel was legally fishing for scallops in EU waters. Now the Cornelis-Gertjan is back on the list and in the spreadsheet section marked ‘EU Waters Access’ it says “YES”. Video, >click to read< 14:32
