THE WRECK FOUND

After much lobbying by local M.P.s of the present government a search was embarked upon in 1999 by ship with a Remotele Operated Submersible Vessel. Guided by the charts supplied by the Norwegians the wreck was quite quickly found and pictures of the Gaul were obtained. The ship was upright, the amount of damage sustained was minor and certainly not consistent with a ship which had capsized due to bad weather. Even the glass in the wheelhouse was intact. Far more damage had been sustained by trawlers battered by storms and which managed to return to port.

Although the R.O.V. took many pictures through the cabin port holes there were no signs of bodies, and no bodies were washed up on shore, although bodies from another ship which went down at about the same time were found.

One interesting point is that running alongside the wreck of the Gaul is a cablefrom the American SOSUS system. This is a system with listening devices for detecting Russian submarines leaving port and runs from Alaska to the Norwegian Coast. Other parts of the system are spread around the world covering most of the oceans to detect Russian subs almost anywhere in the world.

In view of the forgoing and the stalling by previous Governments the families of the crew are not convinced that the true facts regarding the sinking have been found and have pressed for a more detailed investigation to be made. The Government is still considering the matter.