London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025

Submarine Didn't Sink French Fishing Trawler In 2004, UK Probe Finds

Submarine Didn't Sink French Fishing Trawler In 2004, UK Probe Finds

The inquest was held to re-examine the circumstances in which the Bugaled Breizh sank suddenly off Cornwall, southwest England, despite good weather.

A British coroner on Friday concluded that the 2004 sinking of a French fishing trawler in UK waters, which killed five people, was an accident, rejecting claims it had been dragged down by a submarine.

The inquest was held to re-examine the circumstances in which the Bugaled Breizh sank suddenly off Cornwall, southwest England, despite good weather.

Lawyers for the French victims' families had argued that a submarine on exercises in the area at the time could have become tangled with the boat's nets and pulled it down.

But after hearing weeks of evidence at the High Court in London, Judge Nigel Lickley ruled: "The Bugaled Breizh sank... as a result of a fishing accident."

"The probable cause was that the vessel's fishing trawl gear became buried and snagged in the seabed, which, in the relevant area, comprised of a layer of sediment and mud.

"It is likely that this soft snag led to the progressive loss of stability of the vessel, which ultimately caused the Bugaled Breizh to sink.

"There was no other vessel involved in the sinking, whether submarine or surface vessel."

This included any other unidentified allied submarine, including from the United States, he added, rejecting assertions to the contrary as "wholly fanciful and unfounded".

Outside the court, Thierry Lemetayer, whose father Georges drowned in the tragedy, said the judge based his findings "solely on a single report drawn up by 10 French military personnel two years after the sinking".

"There are plenty of independent experts... who have produced reports that went in the opposite direction, that it wasn't a soft snag," he added.

"There's not a single example in the world of a soft snag that led to a sinking," he said, accusing the military of backing each other up, vowing to look into further legal avenues.

The bodies of two of the crew members -- Yves Gloaguen and Pascal Le Floch -- were recovered off Cornwall and a third was found during French salvage operations.

The other two, including Georges Lemetayer, were lost at sea.

Lickley recorded a verdict of accidental death for both Gloaguen and Le Floch. Both were unable to put on or use lifesaving equipment and "drowned as a result of the vessel sinking", he added.

Military exercises


The Ministry of Defence had insisted none of its subs were active in the exact area and that the trawler's nets most likely got caught in sediment, dragging it to the bottom.

Lickley, a high court judge sitting as coroner, was originally due to give his ruling last month but delayed it to Friday to weigh the evidence.

The inquest in London heard that three subs from the Netherlands, Germany and Britain were operating in the general area close to the site of the tragedy, as they planned for allied military exercises.

But the families' suspicions were focused on another submarine, a British Royal Navy nuclear-powered vessel HMS Turbulent.

The British navy ruled out any involvement, though, stressing that the Turbulent was docked on the day of the sinking, January 15, 2004.

MoD lawyer Edward Pleeth denied any allied sub could have been the cause of the tragedy, as both sides presented their final submissions.

Expert witnesses called during the hearing had "entirely ruled out submarine involvement", he said, adding that the evidence pointed towards a fishing accident.

"Every proposition of alternative explanations was rejected in totality by your independent counsel," Pleeth told the judge.

The French justice system, after years of investigations, said in 2016 it was unable to reach a definitive conclusion.

Coroner's inquests are held in England and Wales to try to establish the causes and circumstances of sudden or unexplained deaths based on the balance of probability.

They do not determine criminal or civil liability but set out facts in the public interest.

In particularly sensitive cases, including matters of national security, a judge can be appointed to oversee proceedings.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×