UK Submarine 'not Involved' In 2004 French Trawler Tragedy

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Oct, 2021 ) :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 vessel's former captain said on Tuesday.

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.

The ex-captain said Turbulent had been due to take part in NATO exercises in the area off the English coast but pulled out because of damage, resuming its navigation four days after the Bugaled Breizh sank.

He conceded a sub "could have been a cause" and that his vessel had been suspected, but insisted "we had nothing to do with it".

Earlier on Tuesday, the navy's submarine chief Commander Daniel Simmonds also insisted the submarine was in dock on January 15.

He told the court it was "unthinkable" that the logs would have been falsified or that an allied submarine from another country could have been in the area without signalling its presence.

- 'Not clarified' - Victims' families reacted with scepticism.

"It doesn't make sense. There are still a lot of elements that are not clarified," said Thierry Lemetayer, the son of one victim.

From the outset, the relatives have said they believed the Breton trawler sank after a submarine caught its nets and dragged it down.

Although British naval exercises were scheduled for the day of the tragedy they did not involve submarines, according to Simmonds.

He told the court that only three NATO submarines were at sea when the Bugaled Breizh sank -- the German U22, the Dutch Dolfijn and the British Torbay.

He said none of them could have been within five nautical miles of the trawler.

The Dutch Navy already told the hearing its sub was on the surface at the time of the accident.

A legal procedure in France ended in 2016 with no decision on whether a submarine caused the tragedy or if it was a fishing accident.