View source for FV Gaul

{{Short description|British deep sea factory ship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption= |display title=FV ''Gaul''}} <!-- commercial vessels --><!-- caption: yes, nodab, or <caption text> -->
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship name=*''Gaul'' (1973)
*''Ranger Castor'' (1971)
|Ship owner=*British United Trawlers (Hull) Ltd (1973–74)
*Ranger Fishing Company Ltd, North Shields (1971–73)
|Ship operator=British United Trawlers (Hull) Ltd
|Ship registry=*Hull (''Gaul'')
*North Shields (''Ranger Castor'')
|Ship route=Arctic Ocean
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=Brooke Marine Ltd, Lowestoft.
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=375
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=6 December 1971
|Ship completed=1972
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=1974
|Ship identification=*H243 (''Gaul'')
*SN18 (''Ranger Castor'') 
|Ship fate=Lost with all hands
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class=Stern trawler/factory ship
|Ship type=
|Ship tonnage=1106
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length= 66&nbsp;m (216.9&nbsp;ft)
|Ship beam= 12.3&nbsp;m (40.2&nbsp;ft)
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|Ship decks=
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|Ship ice class=III{{sfn|Steel|2004|p=10}}
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion= 1939 kW (2600 hp) 16 R.K.3M by Ruston Paxman<ref name="stern" />
|Ship speed=
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|}

<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[File:Gaulalongsidethumb.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''Gaul'' alongside at Hull. Pictured just days before her fatal voyage, she was one of the most modern ships in the fishing fleet.]] -->
The fishing vessel '''''Gaul''''' was a deep sea [[factory ship]] based at [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], [[United Kingdom]]. She was launched in December 1971 by [[Brooke Marine]] of Lowestoft, entering service during 1972 with the Ranger Fishing company, where she was registered at [[North Shields]] as ''Ranger Castor'', SN18. She was renamed when Ranger Fishing was bought by British United Trawlers and re-registered at Hull as ''Gaul'', H243.<ref name="stern" /> She sank some time on the night of 8–9 February 1974 in storm conditions in the [[Barents Sea]], north of [[Norway]]. No distress signal was received and her loss was not realised until 10 February after she twice failed to report in. An extensive search operation was launched but no trace of the ship was found, apart from a [[lifebuoy]] recovered three months later. All thirty-six crew were lost. The president of the British Trawler Federation described the loss of the ''Gaul'' as "the worst ever single-trawler tragedy".<ref name="endhunt" />  The wreck was finally located in 1997.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=J.&nbsp;S. |date=April 1999 |title=Marine Accident Report No. 4/99 Report on the Underwater Survey of the Stern Trawler GAUL H. 243 and the supporting Model Experiments August 1998 – January 1999 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/547c7191e5274a428d000123/gaul_report_sections_1_to_6.pdf |access-date=1 March 2019 |website=gov.uk |publisher=Marine Accidents Investigations Branch |page=11 |format=PDF}}</ref>

== Final voyage ==
''Gaul'' sailed from Hull on the morning of 22 January 1974. [[Mate (naval officer)|Mate]] George Petty became ill and was put ashore at [[Lødingen (village)|Lødingen]] on the 26th. Maurice Spurgeon joined the crew on the 28th at [[Tromsø (city)|Tromsø]] and ''Gaul'' arrived at the fishing grounds off the north coast of [[Norway]] the following day. On 8 February the [[sea state]] became severe. Reports from the skippers of other trawlers in the area give the wave height at between 6.5 and 9m, wind between 7 and 10 on the [[Beaufort scale]].<ref name="Boughen" />

At 09:30 ''Gaul'' reported to British United Trawlers that she was "laid and dodging<ref name="dodging" /> off the [[North Cape (Norway)|North Cape Bank]]".  At 10:30, as was company policy,  she reported  to the ''Orsino'' on the "Skipper's Freezer Schedule" – a summary of position, weather conditions, catch etcetera. A further report was due at 16:30 but ''Gaul'', alone of the 17 British United Trawlers ships in the area at the time, failed to report.{{Sfn|Steel|2004|p=47}}

By the afternoon of 10 February British United Trawlers had alerted their insurance company, UK Trawlers Mutual that ''Gaul'' had failed to report for two days. On the following morning the insurance company sent out a message to all the trawlers they insured reading {{blockquote|To all vessels fishing North Bank, Norway – all vessels please report any contact with the GAUL last reported fishing North Bank. Nil reports not required.{{sfn|Steel|2004|pp=49–50}}}}

The aircraft carrier [[HMS Hermes (R12)|HMS ''Hermes'']] was in the area and was ordered to commence searching. The search involved four other British ships, three Norwegian ships and 19 trawlers, coordinated by the ''Hermes''. No evidence of the missing ''Gaul'' was found and the search was called off on the afternoon of 15 February.<ref name="endhunt" /><ref name="times14feb" />{{sfn|Steel|2004|p=51}}

== The 1970s Formal Investigation ==
The original Formal Investigation in 1974 concluded that the most likely reason for her loss was that she was overwhelmed by a succession of very large waves in heavy seas and capsized.{{sfn|Steel|2004|p=88}}<ref name="mcdonald" /><ref name="gilfillan" /> The preliminary investigation had also found deficiencies in the maintenance of chutes, doors and hatches on ''Gaul''{{'}}s sister ship ''Kurd'', but the relevance of this fact was downplayed at the formal inquiry.

''Gaul'' was one of the most modern ships in the UK fishing fleet&nbsp;— she was only 18 months old&nbsp;— and relatives of the crew were reluctant to accept the investigation findings.

In 1975 a TV programme claimed she had been sunk while engaging in [[espionage]] and over the years other theories, including [[conspiracy theories]], have been advanced:

* She was captured and interned by the [[Soviet Union]] because she was engaged in espionage.
* She was sunk by a Soviet [[submarine]] for the same reason.
* She collided with a submarine engaged in [[clandestine operation]]s.
* She was dragged under after snagging her trawling gear in secret undersea cables ([[SOSUS]]).

== The wreck is found ==
In 1975 the Norwegian trawler ''Rairo'' reported snagging her nets on an undersea obstruction in the area where the ''Gaul'' was lost. In 1977, however, the UK government decided against launching a search based on this (and other similar) information, despite being confident that this was indeed ''Gaul''. It was argued that such an investigation would add little new information in aid of safety at sea to justify the cost.{{sfn|Nicklin|1998}}

In 1997 a TV crew, with help from [[Norway|Norwegian]] experts located the wreck exactly where ''Rairo'' had reported the snagging of her nets. She was discovered to be located some {{convert|70|nmi|0}} off the northern coast of Norway and lying in {{convert|280|m|order=flip|0}} of water.<ref name="auto" />

This prompted UK Deputy Prime Minister (and Hull MP) [[John Prescott]] to ask the [[Marine Accident Investigation Branch]] of the [[Department for Transport]] to carry out extensive surveys of the wreck, which it did in 1998 and 2002. During the latter part of the underwater survey in 2002, samples of bones and other human remains were recovered from the wreck, DNA tests conducted by the Forensic Science Service established that the remains came from four of the Gaul's crew. This finding quelled suspicions that the crew had been taken from the vessel by the Russians during cold war hostilities. After reviewing the factual evidence gained from the underwater  surveys, the MAIB concluded that there was enough new evidence to warrant a new formal inquiry. The surveys revealed that some of ''Gaul''{{'}}s hatches and doors were open and, specifically, the outer non-return flaps and the inner covers to the duff and offal waste chutes were open. Additionally, the inner cover to the duff chute appeared to be secured open and the ship's steering gear (a steerable [[kort nozzle]]) was found to show between 10° and 15° of [[port (nautical)|port]] helm.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 March 1999 |title=Marine Accident Report No. 4/99 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/547c7191e5274a428d000123/gaul_report_sections_1_to_6.pdf |access-date=3 February 2024 |website=service.gov.uk}}</ref> John Prescott concurred with the MAIB and a new investigation was launched (the 2004 Re-opened Formal Investigation (RFI)).<ref name="guardian070299" />

== 2004 inquiry ==
On 17 December 2004 the RFI concluded that these open chutes, doors and hatches had compromised the ship's watertight integrity and, combined with a following (and as already noted) heavy sea led to flooding on the factory deck. The RFI also postulated that an attempted emergency manoeuvre by the ''Gaul''{{'}}s officer of the watch (a perfectly logical move to try to turn 'into the sea') caused 100 tonnes of floodwater to surge across to the starboard side of the ship leading to capsize and a catastrophic loss of stability. Further flooding then took place through open doors, chutes and hatches until the ''Gaul'' lost her reserves of buoyancy, she then sank very rapidly, stern first.{{sfn|Steel|2004}}

The report of the RFI dismissed the notion that ''Gaul'' was involved in espionage {{citation needed|date=July 2023}} or that she was in a collision. It found that she was not fishing at the time of her loss, which indicated that no snagging (of the nets) could have occurred.  Regarding espionage the report did include, verbatim, the following submission from Commander Clark [[Royal Navy|RN]]: "Skippers, radio officers and Mates of trawlers were involved in the low level observation and photography of Soviet vessels and aircraft and passive listening. This was on both a voluntary and an opportunity basis. General records and press cuttings on file indicate that some 30 to 40 Skippers were involved in the 1960s when this activity was at its peak. No records of trawler personnel involved in this activity exist in MOD files....However this type of intelligence gathering declined in the early 1970s. I have seen nothing to indicate that the crew of the FV GAUL were involved in this type of activity."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Formal Investigation Report |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/17_12_04_gaul1.pdf |access-date=3 February 2024 |website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref>  

The commissioner for wrecks, Mr Justice Steel, told the inquiry that the 1974/5 inquiry had been inadequate and that it had been an "open secret" that the trawler had been involved in spying.<ref name="wainwright" />

In the immediate wake of the report, relatives of the crew said they were not satisfied<ref name="wainwright" /> and claimed that the "truth was still to be told".

== Memorial service ==
In February 2014, a memorial service was held on St. Andrew's Quay, Hull, to mark the 40th anniversary of the loss of the ''Gaul''.<ref name="mail2004" />

In 2024 there will be a multitude of different events held in Hull, from 8 to 15 February, in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of The ''Gaul''.<ref name="Gaul50th" />

== References ==
{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="stern">{{Cite web |title=Vessel Details: Gaul |url=http://sterntrawlers.shippedia.com/vessel.php?id=18&n=Gaul&r=H243 |publisher=Stern Trawlers}}</ref>

<ref name="endhunt">{{Cite news |last=Our Foreign Staff |date=16 February 1974 |title=Hunt called off for trawler with 36 on board |url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=corlonli&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS101677648&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 |work=The Times |page=6 |issue=59016}}</ref>

<ref name="dodging">To ''lay and dodge'' means to keep the boat as stationary as possible, facing into the weather</ref>

<ref name="times14feb">{{Cite news |date=14 February 1974 |title=Crew in missing Hull trawler now feared dead |url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=corlonli&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=CS17136206&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 |work=The Times |location=London |page=1 |issue=59014}}</ref>

<ref name="guardian070299">{{Cite web |last=Anning |first=Nick |last2=Sweeney |first2=John |date=7 February 1999 |title=Found: gaping hole that sank the Gaul |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/feb/07/theobserver.uknews2 |website=The Observer}}</ref>

<ref name="wainwright">{{Cite web |last=Wainwright |first=Martin |date=17 December 2004 |title=Thirty years on, Gaul inquiry blames waste chutes for sinking of trawler |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk_news/story/0,,1376442,00.html |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

<ref name="mail2004">{{Cite news |date=9 February 2014 |title=Hull memorial service for Gaul trawler crew |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-26086061 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

<ref name="Boughen">{{Cite news |last=Our Correspondent, Hull |title=Skipper describes his last sight of trawler Gaul in Atlantic storm |url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=corlonli&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS35355458&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 |work=The Times |location=London |page=2 |issue=59207}}</ref>


<ref name="gilfillan">{{Cite news |last=Our Correspondent, Hull |date=9 October 1974 |title=Trawler was probably unstable on crest of wave before capsizing, expert says |url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=corlonli&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS51084105&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 |work=The Times |location=London |page=3 |issue=59213}}</ref>

<ref name="mcdonald">{{Cite news |last=McDonald |first=James |date=22 November 1974 |title='Spy Ship' Theory Rejected in Hull Trawler Gaul Case |url=http://find.galegroup.com/ftha/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=FTHA&userGroupName=corlonli&tabID=T003&docPage=article&docId=HS2302955081&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 |work=Financial Times |location=London |page=10 |issue=26,523}}</ref>

<ref name="Gaul50th">{{Cite news |date=16 January 2024 |title=Fifty years on, Gaul trawler tragedy to be commemorated with series of events around Hull |url=https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/fifty-years-on-gaul-trawler-9036115 |work=HullLive}}</ref>

}}

== Notes ==
<!-- *****this can all be incorporated within the body***** -->

* ''Gaul'' was one of four ships in her class. the others were ''Kurd'', ''Kelt'' and ''Arab'' (later ''Kappin'').
* She was a [[Commercial trawler|stern trawler]], meaning that the nets were cast off of the back of the ship (rather than the side, as with a sidewinder trawler) 
* She was a filleter-freezer factory ship and processed fish, as well as catching it. This means she effectively had two crews, the 'sailing' crew and the factory crew. The Reopened Formal Investigation noted this as a potential risk factor if the factory crew were not fully conversant with the safe operation of ''Gaul''.
* The report claimed that the [[Skipper (boating)|skipper]]<!--correct do not change--> and Mate, although experienced [[sailor|mariner]]s, had never sailed in a ship of ''Gaul'''s class, specifically ships with separate factory crew.
* The chutes at the centre of the RFI's conclusions were the ''duff'' and ''offal'' chutes, used to dispose of unwanted marine organisms and fish processing waste respectively. The Wreck Commissioner, Mr Justice Steel, said of the poor condition of these chutes: "This reflects poorly on the maintenance and repair work performed by the owners and their staff."
*The inquiry secured for the first time official confirmation that the UK government used trawlers for espionage during the [[Cold War]], but found no evidence that ''Gaul'' was – or had ever been – so used.
*In 2010 an independent and critical investigation was carried out into the ''Gaul'''s reserves of operational stability, the results of which revealed that she did not meet the IMCO (now IMO) minimum stability standards in all of her anticipated seagoing conditions.

== Bibliography ==
*{{Cite web |date=23 January 2015 |title=Accident Investigation Report: Gaul |url=https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports/sinking-of-stern-trawler-gaul-in-the-barents-sea-with-loss-of-36-lives#accident-investigation-report-gaul |website=GOV.UK |publisher=[[Marine Accident Investigation Branch]]}}
*{{Cite book |last=Nicklin |first=John |title=The Loss of the Motor Trawler GAUL |date=1998 |publisher=Hutton Press, Beverley |isbn=1872167942}}
*{{Cite book |last=Steel |first=David |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/17_12_04_gaul1.pdf |title=Report of the re-opened formal investigation into the loss of the FV Gaul |date=2004 |publisher=HMSO |isbn=0117034444}}

== External links ==
*[http://the-trawler-gaul.blogspot.com/ Site claiming conspiracy of silence over an alleged design fault]

{{1974 shipwrecks}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaul}}
[[Category:Fishing vessels of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Barents Sea]]
[[Category:Cold War history of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1974]]
[[Category:1974 in the United Kingdom]]