Decades old tragedy comes back to haunt the French navy

News from the Celtic League:

“Trente ans après le naufrage du chalutier La Jonque, qui avait entraîné la mort de cinq personnes, un homme embarqué à l’époque à bord du sous-marin Le Tonnant vient de fournir un témoignage qui devrait relancer l’enquête.”

For over three decades via our Celtic League Military Monitoring programme we logged suspicious losses of motor fishing vessels in areas where submarines were active during the cold war.

After the break up of the Soviet Union we thought the problem had ended but incidents such as the loss of the MFV Buglaled Breizh and the snagging of the MFV Karen have emphasised that the problem persists.

One of the most suspicious incidents we logged over thirty years ago was the loss of the Breton trawler MFV La Jonque (14th May 1987) in which all five crew members drowned. There was a suspicion at the time that the vessel had been a casualty of a French submarine ballistic missile submarine on exercise.

This month the Breton political party the UDB (Union Démocratique Bretonne) have called for the enquiry into the loss of La Jonque to be reopened after new evidence from a seaman on the French ballistic missile submarine Le Tonnant of the Le Redoutable class.

This report in 7seizh magazine:

http://7seizh.info/…/faut-rouvrir-lenquete-naufrage-de-jon…/

Related links: Article in ‘The Herald’ 20 years ago when we highlighted the loss of La Jonque and other vessels and urged an enquiry by the European parliament:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/…/12294485.Glimmer_of_hope_i…/

Article in Le Telegramme on the new revelations

http://www.letelegramme.fr/…/naufrage-de-la-jonque-l-udb-de…

Image: Le Redoutable Class submarine

BERNARD MOFFATT
Public Relations Officer Mannin Branch

Issued by: The Mannin branch of the Celtic League.

22/04/17