from the submarine to the “soft eighth note” hypothesis, and from hope to anger for families

On January 15, 2004 at 12.35 p.m., a solid Breton trawler, the Bugaled Breizh, sank suddenly off Cape Lizard, south of England, taking the lives of five experienced fishermen. What happened ? The track of a rogue freighter, which would have fled after a brutal collision, supplants for a time the hypothesis of a collision with a submarine, very quickly considered by the families of the missing. This last possibility resurfaces when the investigation turns to a Dutch submarine present in the area. Finally, the two suspects are quickly exonerated…

Independent experts revive the submarine thesis

Two years after the sinking, two independent experts are commissioned by the investigating judges. Their conclusions revive the submarine thesis – and the hopes of the families, who have always defended this version. According to the experts, in fact, only an exogenous force, that is to say external to the trawler, could have caused such a rapid sinking (in less than a minute). “The only explanation for the sinking is that something pulled on one of the cables that connected the Bugaled Breizh to his trawlsums up Dominique Tricaud, one of the families’ lawyers. Obviously, we think of a submarine.“

“It’s either a very big whale or a submarine. And those who want to believe in whales, well, they love animals, it’s magnificent!”

Thierry Lemétayer, son of the mechanic who disappeared on the “Bugaled Breizh”

in “Sensitive Matters”

This is the first time that experts have given credit to the families’ thesis: in this scenario, a submarine would have snagged the port cable of the Bugaled Breizh with its rear rudder. He would then have dragged this steel cable, called a “fune”, over tens of meters, before freeing himself from it and continuing on his way. Traces of friction were also observed on this port warp. Another very important element, underlines Pascal Bodéré, journalist of the Telegram specialist in the file, this port warp was found unrolled 150 meters more than the starboard warp. “Like the warp can’t breakhe explains, it’s the boat that goes to the bottom with the submarine…”

The families regain hope: finally, the investigation seems to be moving towards what they suspected from the start.

“I tell myself that there is work being done towards the truth. And I see courageous people, who demonstrate technically that this boat could not have sunk on its own. This boat could not have sunk all alone !”

Thierry Lemetayer

in “Sensitive Matters”

However, a year and a half later, their hopes were dashed by another report: that of the Marine Occurrences Investigation Bureau, the BEA mer. This administrative body, attached to the Ministry of Transport, investigated in parallel with the justice . And he has a radically different reading from the first experts.

A report from the BEA mer leans towards a fishing accident

According to the BEA mer, the trawl of the Bugaled Breizh would have hung a sand dune at the bottom of the water. Non-compliance with safety rules and the weather conditions would have done the rest… and caused the sinking. Anglers call this type of accident a “soft hook”.

Except that in the case of Bugaled“on a perfectly flat sandy ground (…)? nobody believes it“, sums up Thierry Lemétayer’s lawyer. Neither the owner of the boat, sure of his crew and his skills – which would have enabled him to get by, he says – nor the fishermen and their families , dismayed by such a conclusion.

“All the boats in the area, there, and elsewhere, who work in the sand dunes every day… well, they have to get back to port quickly… because they are in danger, guys! stop the bullshit! ‘Soft eighth note’…”

Frédéric Stéphan, second on “L’Eridan”

in “Sensitive Matters”

Convinced that the French State wants to hush up the affair, the civil parties let their anger explode. At first, the investigating judges will not follow the conclusions of the BEA sea: they continue to dig the track of the submarine. But their investigation will come up against a double obstacle: it is international, and it touches on Defense secrecy…

Excerpt from “Bugaled Breizh: a shipwreck in troubled waters”, an investigation to be seen on April 4, 2022 in “Sensitive Affairs”, a magazine presented by Fabrice Drouelle and co-produced by France Télévisions, France Inter and INA according to original broadcast of France Inter.

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