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The Trawler GaulThe Trawler GaulDisclosures and criticism of the formal investigation held into the sinking of the vessel Articles
The broken pact
2007-12-16 20:23:00 In our post of July 12 2007, we explained that, according to the 1995 Merchant Shipping Act and the 2006 Fraud Act, the Secretary of State for Transport would be likely to commit the offence of fraud by abuse of position, if she did not order a re-opening of the Gaul Investigation in the light of the evidence we presented.Six months have passed since and, having failed to take appropriate action or to provide any reasonable justification, not even a word, in support of her decision not to re-examine the case, Mrs Ruth Kelly, currently at the helm of the Department for Transport, appears to be either ill-advised or consciously in breach of the law. As Lenin and his associates used to dismiss the law as bourgeois sham, the New Labour regime shows a similar contempt for legality, though not so much for ideological reasons, as out of recklessness and a lack of ethical commitment. The significance of the rule of law in the survival of a democracy is not a complicated concept to appreciat... More About: Broken
Inventions and devices
2007-12-08 22:18:00 In our previous posts we uncovered a number of inadequacies in the expert analysis carried out during the 2004 Gaul RFI. More recently, we have highlighted some serious flaws in the RFI analysis pertaining to the Gaul’s sinking scenario.Yesterday, we raised doubts as to the quality of the information put forward by the RFI panel of experts in their paper: ‘The Loss of the M.F.V Gaul’ which was presented to the Royal Institution of Naval Architects in 2006.Today, we would like to go back to that same paper and question why a door self-closing mechanism, similar to the one pictured below, was mentioned only in that document, while the 2004 RFI report, the transcripts of evidence or other related sources do not seem to include any reference to such a device.“8.3(c) Flooding of liver plantSubsequent to the model testing, it was found although the door from the factory to the liver plant room……………. The door was partially shut by a self-closing device…”The answer may... More About: Inventions , Devices
Hyperbolic representation
2007-12-07 19:31:00 On 25 January 2006, the Gaul RFI experts panel presented a paper entitled ‘The Loss of the M.F.V Gaul’ (see http://www.bctq.com/downloads/Gaul.pdf) to the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. This paper - a summary on the work the experts had concluded during the 2004 RFI - flatly states: “There was no logical reason why the duff and offal chute lids were secured in the open position, whilst dodging, other than crew error. It is also difficult to understand why the flap valves were jammed in the open position other than bad maintenance onboard or shore.” Familiar perhaps with the old wisdom that a good slogan can stop fifty years of analysis, or maybe emboldened by the calm passage of time, the Gaul experts claimed in their paper more certainty for the results of the 2004 RFI than the course of the proceedings ever warranted, and confidently put forward a more unequivocal explanation for the open state of the chutes’ inner lids. Thus, what justice Steel and his associate...
The closed system
2007-10-31 20:01:00 “The Department is satisfied that there is no reason to doubt the outcome of the expert analysis that led to the Re-opened Formal Investigations conclusions and consequently there is no reason to re-open the investigation,” says the message sent to us by the Department for Transport on 8 October 2007. So, the DfT are still proclaiming their faith in the merits of the 2004 Gaul RFI which, it is no longer a secret, did not lead to anything, except injustice and frustration, driving the whole purpose of a formal investigation onto precarious ground. “You have informed me that the technical report, related documents and information published on the following sites: http://the-trawler-gaul.blogspot.com and www.freewebs.com/inconvenientcitizen, had been viewed by technical experts within the DfT before your latest decision not to re-open the investigation was taken.I would therefore be grateful if you could tell me who these in-house experts are.” We gently inquired the very same ... More About: System , Stem , Closed
Making bubbles
2007-10-24 20:12:00 In our post of 16 September 2007 we showed that the calculations for the pressure of the air, trapped inside the Gaul as she sank, which are contained in the MAIB report no 4/99 and were relied upon during the 2004 RFI, are incorrect. These calculations were performed by BMT, the company which MAIB had sub-contracted to carry out this simple task on the their behalf.Unable, perhaps, to consign the work to one of their own specialists, or even consult their encyclopaedias, or other publications such as Popular Mechanics, the MAIB decided to farm it out. Generously paid for by the taxpayer, BMT appear, nonetheless, to have got it wrong… Anyway, when recently asked to offer his comments on the errors identified in their report, the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents at MAIB, Mr Stephen Meyer, sent us a rather incongruous and terse reply: our emailed inquiry, he said curtly, did not provide grounds for re-opening the Gaul Investigation (?!) (His strange response reminding us of that... More About: Bubbles
Fahrenheit 451
2007-10-17 22:11:00 The Rt Hon John Prescott has never been a scholar; there was no need for that and no one should hold that against him. However, before the Office of Deputy Prime Minister was created, in the period between 1997 and 2001, as Secretary of State for Transport and Regions, he decided to transform the DETR and its executive agencies (e.g. the MCA[1]), through the hands of his newly appointed managers and disciples, and in accordance with his vision. Installed in 1998, the new management of the MCA, promptly declared war on elitism – oh, that very notion the mere utterance of which would make John Prescott and his comrades go dizzy in the head – and set out to rejuvenate the Agency.It was then when the MCA was purged of many of the ‘old-fashioned’ elements, which, in Mr Prescott’s worldview, were not ‘business-friendly’ enough or sufficiently attached to the New Labour cultural ideals. Old-guard civil servants, ex-RN officers and veteran technical staff within the MCA were s... More About: Fahrenheit 451
Police Complaint
2007-10-12 18:26:00 We feel we are now at liberty to publish (below) the written complaint that was submitted to the Fraud Squad of the Metropolitan Police earlier this year (as per our post of 03 April 2007).(Names and other personal details have been removed from the version published online.)The complaint is just an introductory part to the evidence we have made available for the authorities.In due course, we will publish the follow-ups and other relevant information."Dear Sirs, RE: The trawler Gaul tragedy: recent history, the Re-opened Formal Investigation (2004) and subsequent events We consider that the matters presented below may be worthy of your attention: My name is [xxxxxxxxx]...[xxxxxxxxx]...[xxxxxxxxx]In the course of my work there [at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency], I had reason to examine a number of technical issues associated with the design and construction of the trawler Gaul (lost in 1974 with 36 deaths). In 2002, the reason for the vessel’s loss was still very much a myster... More About: Complaint
Non-exclusive
2007-10-11 23:12:00 We were contacted today by a 'foreign journalist', curious about our complaint to the police (see the post above) and the events leading to it. He wished to obtain, he said, some sort of exclusivity in reporting 'the story'.As we have mentioned from the beginning, we have not and we will not offer any exclusivity.We consider such an arrangement as highly inappropriate. Our posts have been written in the public interest, free for all to see (we hope).We do not wish to be gagged in any way. More About: Exclusive
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
2007-10-07 13:01:00 "Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government. When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defence, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.1. Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen.2. Wax indignant. This is also known as the "How dare you?" gambit.3. Characterize the charges as "rumours" or, better yet, "wild rumours." If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through "rumours." (If they tend to believe the "rumours" it must be because they are simply "paranoid" or "hysterical.")4. Knock down straw men. Deal only with the weakest aspects of the weakest charges. Even better, create your own straw men. Make up wild rumours (or plant false stories) and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and f... More About: Truth , Seventeen , Ruth
We've been here before
2007-09-30 20:26:00 Following up from our posts of 5 and 9 September, and our recent correspondence with the Treasury Solicitors, we announce that we have been taken aback by the latest reply received from the TSol.Rather than answering our questions or justifying their previous position (which is a shame because we would have loved to hear their answers), the Treasury Solicitors have decided, this time around, to abandon subterfuge, lay down their swords and wash their hands of the Gaul case, passing the responsibility for a final decision on the prospect of re-opening the Gaul investigation back to the Department for Transport.Well, I am sure Mrs Ruth Kelly was grateful for that; after all the efforts she had made in order to avoid personal involvement, shielding herself with the bodies of various lawyers and civil servants, she is now back in the spotlight.Unfortunately for Mrs Kelly, the duty to consider our evidence and decide on the necessity of re-opening the Gaul case does, indeed, rest with th...
Debunking fallacies
2007-09-24 20:03:00 (The hinged inner covers – part 1)Over the course of the past year we have revealed a number of serious failings in the conduct and conclusions drawn by the 2004 Gaul RFI panel. Throughout this time, the DfT has, nonetheless, persistently avoided re-opening the debate on this subject and doggedly stuck to the RFI official line.As the fallacies in their final report were being dismantled, they continued to fend off any controversy by wielding what they thought was their ‘biggest’ argument:[Regardless of any failings in the investigative process, on the day of the loss, the crew could have closed and secured the inner covers of the duff and offal chutes and this action in itself would have saved the vessel.]Thus, the officials argue, regardless of any failures of the RFI, the over-riding outcome of the formal investigation (that crew error had been instrumental in the vessel’s loss) is still valid and, therefore, a miscarriage of justice did not occur. As we are going to demo... More About: Alla
Laying the blame on those who cannot defend themselves
2007-09-20 22:13:00 (click to enlarge) The areas coloured in orange represent the critical down-flooding openings, which were deemed to have played a part in the loss of the Gaul. The areas coloured in blue (the funnel vents) are also critical in the down-flooding scenario, although these are meant to be kept open at all times.The duff and offal chutes were found open on the wreck. The 2004 RFI concluded therefore that they had been left open by the crew.As we have attempted to demonstrate on these pages and in the attached documents, the chutes’ outer flaps had a design fault, while their inner covers could not provide sufficient protection against flooding.The fish loading hatches and the net store hatch, as our previous post explained, could have been opened by air pressure or by the force of internal floodwater acting on them from inside the vessel.The RFI panel’s opinion, however, was that these hatches, also, had been left unsecured by the crew and had opened due to gravity when the vessel wa... More About: Blame , Anno
The Fraud Act
...
2007-03-17 19:01:00 The Frau d Act (Crown copyright) Selections from the contents of the FRAUD ACT can be viewed on THIS PAGE. - - OUR SAY Latest News http://www.voloper.com/projects/opensite/ Ricky/our-say_org/News.aspx Latest News from OUR SAY's campaign to revitalise democracy Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:14:53 GMT
"It's increasingly difficult to get straight answe...
2007-03-17 14:30:00 "It's increasingly difficult to get straight answers to straight questions" Sandra GidleyOn 11 February 2007, we asked our local MP (Mrs Sandra Gidley) to make two requests for information via the Parliamentary procedure.These requests were to enable us to obtain to documents, held by the government, which would have shed further light on the procedural aspects of the Gaul Formal Investigation.In the next few days, we will also reveal what these interesting documents are about.During our last meeting with our MP, on 10 March 2007, we learned, however, that these requests could not be addressed via the Parliament, but by means of a future letter from Mrs Gidley to the Department for Transport – a course of action, which, she believed, would be easier and more appropriate.OK! Let’s hope that it works, though I have a feeling that it may not. - - OUR SAY Latest News http://www.voloper.com/projects/opensite/ Ricky/our-say_org/News.aspx Latest News from OUR SAY's campai... More About: Cult , Asin , Sing , Stra , Straight
2002 Underwater Survey
2007-03-13 21:43:00 2002 Under water Survey - - OUR SAY Latest News http://www.voloper.com/projects/opensite/ Ricky/our-say_org/News.aspx Latest News from OUR SAY's campaign to revitalise democracy Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:14:53 GMT More About: Water
'Secret Agents'
In 2002 the MAIB carried out an u...
2007-03-07 19:50:00 'Secret Agent s'In 2002 the MAIB carried out an underwater survey of the wreck of the Gaul and produced over 3,000 hours of high quality video footage.The survey vessel used, MPSV Seisranger, was equipped with nine Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), including several mini-ROVs. The cost for this operation, as the Transport minister advised, amounted to about £3 million.During the 2004 Re-opened Formal Investigation parts of this video footage were examined by the retained experts and a few selections from this material were afterwards attached to the RFI final report as evidentiary material and placed in the public domain – the coverage of the duff and offal chutes themselves, the very cause of the sinking, representing only a minuscule part of these selections (approx. 64 seconds).Wishing to obtain some of the missing sections in digital format, so we can publish them more easily, we asked the MAIB to release parts of the footage that were not in the public domain.In reply to o... More About: Agents , Carr , Arri
Don’t mess with the mob
Do you remember this post...
2007-02-27 19:49:00 Don’t mess with the mobDo you remember this post? It reproduced a communication between several government experts who had been involved in the Gaul case prior to the RFI.Three of those mentioned in the original document subsequently left the UK and were employed in a EU institution.(A similar trajectory was given also to a high-ranking civil servant in the Department for Transport, who had been privy to the various proceedings prior to the RFI)The author of the critical paper on the Gaul Investigation, published on our sites, was himself amongst those sucked into the EU orbit. That is until 2006, when he managed to extricate himself from that situation and, literally, run back to the UK, the EU mob squealing behind: “We need Tony Blair!”, “We need Tony Blair!”, “We need…”The EU hub, I am informed, is not the safest place to be when you are sticking your nose into TOPICS that could embarrass the present government.How odd!(To be continued) - - OUR SAY Latest... More About: Post , With , This , Mess
Cherry-picking
After a suitable delay, Laurance O...
2007-02-25 16:38:00 Cherry-pickingAfter a suitable delay, Laurance O’Dea, the Treasury Solicitor, emailed a reply to our oft-repeated enquiry regarding the missing evidence in the Gaul investigation.In his response, dated 23.02.2007, Mr O’Dea again sought to dispel our concerns about the soundness of the investigation, this time by assuring us that the retained experts in the RFI “were able to consider the various drawings of the vessel, including the arrangements of the duff and offal chutes before the public hearings”, that “these experts had been instructed to make their own judgments on the evidence that they were able to see” and that they were “independent and reached conclusions on the evidence available to them”.Fair enough, so far, but what we actually wanted to know, though, was whether the evidence available to those experts included any mention of the design fault that the specialists from MCA and MAIB had discussed and agreed upon some time ago. Was this evidence contained ... More About: Cher , Tabl , King , Table
Loose ends
In the his opening speech to the Gaul ...
2007-02-18 20:18:00 Loose ends In the his opening speech to the Gaul Re-opened Formal Investigation, Nigel Meeson QC, representing the Attorney General, advised on one of the matters on which the RFI should focus:“…the duff chute …This time a single flap lid, which we can see, is in the open position. It is difficult to see, but if one looks carefully you can see that the chute here is kept in the open position by a wire pinned across the top left-hand corner, which I am indicating now with the laser pen.”This matter was to become one of the RFI’s principal justifications for concluding that the inner covers of the duff and offal chutes on the Gaul had been secured open by the crew, a fact that was subsequently deemed to have contributed to the loss of the vessel. [1] The image, taken during the 2002 underwater survey, that Mr Meeson referred to, purportedly shows a wire going across the inner lid. We have also viewed this picture, as well as the rest of the video footage, and have come to a ... More About: Open , Opening , Ends , Speech , Loose Ends
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/...
2007-02-17 19:03:00 http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/marine-acciden ts/ - - OUR SAY Latest News http://www.voloper.com/projects/opensite/ Ricky/our-say_org/News.aspx Latest News from OUR SAY's campaign to revitalise democracy Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:14:53 GMT More About: Petitions , Petition , Http , Petit
Rule 42*
There is that nagging question regarding...
2007-02-14 23:23:00 Rule 42* There is that nagging question regarding the elusive evidence of a design defect on the Gaul, that does not go away.The Secretary of State for Transport, Dr Stephen Ladyman, has twice been quizzed about this evidence through written Parliamentary Quest ion s (PQ).It was to no avail. The first time he managed to prevaricate and, the second time, he referred us to his previous answer.We believe that, the second time round, he would have had a harder time fending off the issue, had not the question been changed in transit. When asked why they had altered the query, the Parliamentary table office advised: “the question as drafted conveyed information tantamount to the advancing of argument”, that is: “it sought to convey information and make an argument” and, therefore, contravened the PQ rules. Besides, a question cannot be asked twice; we were explained, “even if introducing greater levels of detail”. ......................................... ........................... More About: Hat , Here , That
Opéra féerie
Synopsis
Two weeks ago, the Treasur...
2007-02-10 13:02:00 Opéra féerieSynopsisTwo weeks ago, the Treasury Solicitor, Laurence O’Dea, promised us a reply to our enquiry regarding the-evidence-that-no-one-dares-mention-in -polite-company.Having not received an answer from Mr O’Dea in the “early course”, we telephoned about the reasons for this delay. (He had had, after all, at least four months to ponder on this quandary.)Thus, we managed to find out that what had been holding Mr O’Dea up, this time round, was the need to ‘consult the Department for Transport’ before committing himself in writing. So, we surmised, the Treasury Solicitor’s recollections about the evidence in the Gaul investigation, which he himself had been charged to pull together during the RFI (*), depended on advice from the DfT.Once this advice is received, he will be able to add his legal ornaments to it and send us a reply. However, he indicated, we shouldn’t expect a clear-cut answer to our question, but simply another version of the same old song. ... More About: Week , Erie , Weeks
8 February - 33 years
The story of the Gaul "is n...
2007-02-08 01:43:00 8 February - 33 yearsThe story of the Gaul "is not just about the loss of a fishing trawler and 36 men." It is also about "the incalculable harm to people that comes from inappropriate official actions."(*) ----------------------------------------- --------------(*)Bert Wyatt, The First Casualty, 2005 - - OUR SAY Latest News http://www.voloper.com/projects/opensite/ Ricky/our-say_org/News.aspx Latest News from OUR SAY's campaign to revitalise democracy Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:14:53 GMT More About: Story , Stor , Years , The Story , Year
Investigation on behalf of the Attorney General
B...
2007-02-01 11:16:00 Investigation on behalf of the Attorney Genera l Body languageWhile waiting for an answer to our question about the ‘missing evidence’ (which, between us being said, was somewhat rhetorical), we decided to address another query to justice David Steel: What recommendations, advice or expression of expectations regarding the Gaul case did the Attorney General and the DPM, John Prescott, offer you before and during the 2004 Formal Investigation? © Crown copyright 2004 - - OUR SAY Latest News http://www.voloper.com/projects/opensite/ Ricky/our-say_org/News.aspx Latest News from OUR SAY's campaign to revitalise democracy Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:14:53 GMT More About: Vest , Investigation
Another small observation
The 2004 Formal Investi...
2007-01-30 22:27:00 Another small observationThe 2004 Formal Investigation into the sinking of the FV Gaul concluded, as we all know by now, that the cause for the loss of the vessel was the ingress of a large quantity of seawater through the two duff and offal chutes openings in the hull of the vessel.The double-barrier protections of these openings – the inner covers and the outer flaps - were found to be in the open position during the underwater survey in 2002.The fact that the outer flaps were found open, the investigation concluded, was due to seizure caused by corrosion in the vessel’s 16 month old flap hinges and failure on the part of the crew and shore maintenance staff to identify and rectify this problem.The fact that the inner covers were also found open was explained away by crew negligence. However, the trouble with these findings (as we have attempted to explain in our earlier posts) is that they were based on unsubstantiated assumptions.Let’s take, this time, the presumed corrosi... More About: Other , Small , Vest , Another , Mall
Institutional Independence
2007-01-29 19:33:00 Institutional Independence - - OUR SAY Latest News http://www.voloper.com/projects/opensite/ Ricky/our-say_org/News.aspx Latest News from OUR SAY's campaign to revitalise democracy Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:14:53 GMT More About: Institutional , Epen
The smell of fish and bilge water
In the period be...
2007-01-27 16:02:00 The smell of fish and bilge waterIn the period between 17 and 24 January, two emails were sent to justice David Steel (the Chief of the 2004 Re-opened Formal Investigation into the sinking of the FV Gaul) and two emails were received from the judge's office in reply. These items of correspondence were concerned with the very same question that had not quite made it to the Parliament Question Book earlier this year, and which was now addressed to the judge:Was any evidence of design inadequacies in the construction and arrangements of the duff and offal chutes on the Gaul, specifically relating to: a. The non-return flaps and their possibility of malfunction (i.e. to open under the action of the sea) b. The strength of the inner covers when subjected to direct sea loading,presented to you prior to the publication of your final report on the Investigation on 17 December 2004?" A simple ‘yes' or ‘no’ from the judge, who acted as solicitor on behalf of the Insurers back in 1978,... More About: Fish , Water , Smell , Peri , Period
The third round of Parliamentary Questions and Answers - par
2007-01-15 10:34:03 The third round of Parliamentary Question s and Answer s - part 2?Attention to detail?The fourth parliamentary question that was addressed to the Secretary of State for Transport concerned the mode and date of implementation of the four safety recommendations arising from the F. V. Gaul Re-opened Formal Investigation.The Minister?s latest response to this question was very eloquent and reassuring, but, alas, it was also factually incorrect and misleading. The four formal safety recommendations from the RFI have not as yet been implemented and, had it not been for this recent enquiry, it is unlikely that they would have ever been tackled. One of the principle faults with the Minister?s response, however, is the fact that he seemed to have opened the RFI Report at the wrong page? (!!) that is, he has copied and responded to text from page 280 of the Report, which does not in fact contain the four formal safety recommendations - these are actually detailed on pages 286 and 287 of the for... More About: Questions , Men , Answers
BRIEF INTRODUCTIONSUMMARY OF THE GAUL CASE AND ITS RECENT DE
More articles from this author:2007-01-15 10:34:03 BRIEF INTRODUCTIONSUMMARY OF THE GAUL CASE AND ITS RECENT DEVELOPMENTS More About: Cent , Mary , Introduction , Case , Recent 1, 2, 3, 4 |
