The most plausible explanation for the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh was a collision with a submarine, according to the judge presiding over the investigation into the mysterious sinking of the fishing trawler off the Cornish coast on the 15th January 2004.

The Celtic League has campaigned for justice to be upheld since the sinking occurred in 2004 and has always maintained the strong possibility that covert naval submarine operations, taking place in the vicinity of the Breton fishing vessel at the time, were responsible. Repeating the words of the Judge, lawyer, Me Christian Bergot, acting on behalf of the families of the five fishermen who were drowned with their boat said last Thursday:

"La thèse la plus plausible est une croche avec un sous-marin, qui se serait pris par en dessous par une fûne (câble) du bateau"

The conclusions drawn from the judicial investigation run contrary to the findings of the Ministry of Transport's own investigators Bureau Enquête Accident Mer (BEA), who stated that the most likely cause of sinking was a fishing accident. However, since the judicial investigation began a series of anomalies have surfaced regarding the evidence presented by the Royal Navy and others, as reported previously in the Celtic League news pages.

The families of the five victims firmly believe that a submarine, engaged in a NATO exercise taking place at the time, could be the only possible cause for the sinking. Judge, Richard Foltzer, said that it was not inconceivable however that a 'spy' submarine had also been present and could have been responsible for the sinking too.

A sister in law of one of the victims, Nathalie Gloaguen, said that the judgment was a big step forward, but the owner of the Bugaled Breizh, Michel Douce, stated that the future is still uncertain, because those responsible still need to be held to account.

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

01/06/07