Survey into the sinking of trawler was a 'waste of time'

EXPERTS advising an inquiry into the sinking of a trawler in which seven fishermen lost their lives have cast doubts on the results of an underwater survey carried out on the wreck.

Aberdeen-based company Subsea 7 was hired to carry out a detailed study of the Trident four years ago before a reopened formal inquiry into the disaster began at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

The fresh investigation into the sinking of the Peterhead trawler off Caithness in 1974 ended last month after costing taxpayers more than 6 million.

But the bereaved families have now obtained a report which reveals that the panel of experts advising the inquiry were highly critical of the Subsea 7 survey, claiming that they were forced to downgrade the original scope of the survey because of delays and problems with equipment on board the survey vessel.

The report, written by the six experts in June 2006, states: "We as the joint panel of experts (JPE) would like to express our concerns regarding the quality of the service provided by Subsea 7 during the Trident survey."

They continue: "It has become clear that there was a significant lack of any comprehensive preparation or planning by Subsea 7 before the survey began. There was an evident lack of 'joined up thinking' within the management of Subsea 7 on this project.

"The nature of this survey required a flexible approach and the ability to apply lateral thinking in order to produce practical solutions to the problems at hand.

"Given the sensitivity of this project, we found the absence of appropriately experienced management personnel on board surprising to say the least."

According to the panel of experts, "significant time was lost" in removing nets and ropes fouled on the wreck because Subsea 7 personnel were "ill-prepared and ill-equipped" for the task. The experts were also denied the opportunity to conduct a "fly through" of the inside of the wreck using a remotely operated vehicle.

The experts conclude: "The continual equipment failures and resultant time pressures being applied have meant that we have been forced into a position where we have had no alternative but to downgrade the original scope of our intended survey."

Jeannie Ritchie, 69, who lost both her father and her husband in the sinking, claimed the problems encountered during the underwater survey had cast fresh doubt about the conclusions reached by the experts. She said: "This survey was an absolute waste of time and public money.We are further from the truth now than we ever were."

A spokesman for Subsea 7 declined to comment on the JPE report.

A spokesman for the Office of the Advocate General, which conducted the re-opened inquiry, said: "We are not going to make any formal statement while the process of the Sheriff Principal considering the final report is ongoing."

The Sheriff Principal is excepted to issue his findings before the end of the year. A fatal accident inquiry, held eight months after the disaster, concluded it was probable that the Trident had foundered after taking aboard "a sea or succession of seas" and that the "deficient stability" in her design had probably contributed to the loss of the trawler.

It is a verdict the families have refused to accept. They claim it was Trident's instability alone which caused the vessel to sink and that there was a design fault in the Trident.

The men who died were Alex Ritchie, 35, who was the boat's co-owner; acting skipper Robert Cordiner, 36; and crewmen George Nicol, 58; Tom Thain, 32; James Tait, 32; Alex Summers, 38, all from Peterhead; and Alex Mair, 30 of Portknockie.