Human remains thought to be missing members of the crew of Hull trawler Gaul - which went missing in February, 1974 - have been discovered on the Russian coast. DNA tests are currently being carried out by the Russian authorities to identify them.
The Mail understands the remains of up to ten bodies are being examined. The discovery comes nearly 40 years after the trawler disappeared during a fierce storm in the Barents Sea 80 miles off Norway with the loss of her entire 36-man crew.
The factory stern trawler issued no distress call and a subsequent search failed to locate the wreck. The Gaul was eventually found in 1997 during a privately-funded seabed survey.
Only three crew members have ever been positively identified after bone fragments were recovered from the vessel in another survey in 2002 – factory charge-hand Stan Collier, 40, James Wales, 29, the Gaul's third engineer, and acting first mate Maurice Spurgeon, 38.
Now, fresh hopes have been raised that more missing men could be identified after Humberside Police confirmed it was working with the Foreign Office to liaise with the Russian authorities over the discovery.
Assistant Chief Constable Alan Leaver from Humberside Police said: “We have met all the families of the crew members lost on the Gaul and will continue to provide them with information as it becomes available. At the moment, the information we have is very limited and we have to wait for the Russian authorities to advise us of the tests they are doing on the remains. We will continue to work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to seek to support families and to provide more details about the remains.”
In their statement, police said the remains had initially been found on the Rybachy peninsula in the Murmansk region of Russia in the mid-1970s by people living nearby. The Mail understands a Russian custom at the time the Gaul disappeared was to use rocks to cover the bodies of unknown dead seafarers because freezing ground conditions meant it was impossible to dig proper graves. It is not clear why the discovery was not reported at the time, although the loss of the Gaul happened at the height of the Cold War.
The police statement states: “At this stage, there is no confirmation as to the nationality of the remains. However, this area of Russia is consistent with the area where the lost crew of the Gaul could have washed ashore. The information passed to the UK authorities is that the remains were found in 1974 or 1975 by the local population.”
Families of the dead crew have been given information about the discovery of the remains and details of the forensic tests during the visit from the police.
The statement adds: “During these visits, the officers have been asking family members for descriptive and comparative information that may assist in identifying the missing from the Gaul at this time or if other bodies are discovered at a later date. The Russian authorities have confirmed they are conducting forensic and genetic testing on the remains and they are committed to assisting the UK in the identification of the remains found.”
All 36 crew members died when what was then regarded as one of Hull’s most advanced trawlers disappeared during a heavy storm 70 miles off the Norwegian coast in February 1974. A subsequent search for the Gaul in the Arctic waters of Barents Sea found no wreckage.
Two months later, a lifebelt from the vessel was washed ashore in Norway. The lifebelt was the only physical evidence from the factory freezer trawler to be displayed at a public inquiry into her loss held in Hull later that year. The inquiry concluded the Gaul must have been overwhelmed by heavy seas.
However, the findings did not satisfy many relatives of the crew. Some suspected the vessel’s disappearance was linked to Cold War hostilities. Rumours persisted about submarine collisions, Russian kidnapping and cover-ups aimed at hiding details of a secret intelligence gathering mission.
Eventually, in 1997, the wreck was discovered on the seabed some 70 miles north of the North Cape of Norway. The Gaul was found by an expedition led by journalist Norman Fenton and financed by two TV companies.
That led to the then Deputy Prime Minister and Hull East MP John Prescott to ask the Marine Accident Investigation Branch to commission its own survey of the wreck. A follow-up survey found human remains onboard.
A re-opened inquiry into her loss by the MAIB concluded the vessel had been flooded as a result of two open waste chutes on the main deck.
Wednesday 11 December 2013
http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Bodies-Hull-trawler-Gaul-s-missing-crew-Russia-40/story-20303460-detail/story.html
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