News Release 544:
14 December 2001Gaul: survey contractor chosen
The Aberdeen based firm Halliburton Subsea (Rockwater Ltd) has been chosen as the main contractor for the underwater survey of the trawler Gaul in the summer of 2002, Shipping Minister David Jamieson announced today.
Halliburton, who won the contract following a competitive bidding contest, will be working under instructions from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).
The survey will seek to remove any lingering doubts about the fate of Gaul by:
supplementing existing photographic evidence to explain the loss of the Gaul;
searching for any remains of the crew of Gaul in order to establish their identity using DNA profiling;
searching for evidence in connection with allegations that Gaul could have been engaged in espionage activities; and
developing a means for entering and examining the interior of a sunken vessel for accident investigation purposes.
Mr Jamieson said:
"My Department is funding this survey in support of the Re-opened Formal Investigation into the loss of Gaul which is being conducted by Mr Justice Steel.
"In May, the Deputy Prime Minister again made it clear that he could not support a manned dive on safety grounds. I am in complete agreement with him.
"I hope it will be of some comfort to the Gaul families that both we and Halliburton will be doing all we can to meet the objectives of the survey which were agreed by the families, although, of course, there can be no guarantee of success. The first aim of the survey will be to collect video images that explain the loss of the vessel before work begins on the other objectives which will require the evidence to be disturbed.
"Representatives of the families will be aboard the survey vessel when it sets sail next summer. The Gaul families will have an opportunity to learn more about the survey and put questions to the MAIB at a meeting in Hull in January 2002.
"I wish Halliburton well in their task. I very much hope that the survey will help the Re-opened Formal Investigation reach firm conclusions concerning the loss of Gaul and her crew because there should be no expectation of a further return to the wreck."
Notes for Editors
1. The Hull-registered motor trawler Gaul was lost off the North Cape on 8 February 1974. There was no distress message and all 36 crew members perished. The only wreckage recovered was a lifebuoy and the exact location of the wreck was not discovered.
2. A Formal Investigation was held during September and October 1974 into the loss of the vessel. It concluded that the vessel capsized and foundered in heavy seas. However, the investigation found no direct evidence of how the tragedy occurred.
3. In August 1997, an expedition funded by UK and Norwegian television companies discovered the wreck of Gaul. The documentary film of the expedition was shown on Channel 4 on 6 November 1997. Following this discovery, and on the recommendation of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch that a more detailed examination of the wreck would be necessary to determine the cause of the sinking of the vessel, the Deputy Prime Minister announced in January 1998 that the Government would undertake a survey of the wreck. The survey was undertaken by the MAIB and completed in August 1998. On the 15th August 1998, the Deputy Prime Minister, on the advice of the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents that new and important evidence had been found, announced his intention to reopen the Formal Investigation into the sinking of Gaul.
4. The main objectives of the underwater survey has been agreed between the parties to the Formal Investigation and by the Department. This second and final survey will comprehensively supplement the evidence gained from the first survey.
5. The value of the contract awarded is in the region of £2 million.
6. 'Halliburton's Energy Services Group (ESG) delivers real-time systems, technologies, and services to the energy sector. The Halliburton Subsea segment of ESG provides comprehensive subsea services with a fleet of 84 Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), six construction and survey class Dynamic Positioning (DP) vessels, three construction class DP semi-submersibles and an array of subsea production equipment'.
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Published 14 December 2001
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