1974: No hope of survivors from missing Gaul trawler

The air and sea search for a British trawler missing in the Arctic Ocean has been called off.

Nothing has been heard from the Gaul and its 36-man crew since it vanished in a force ten gale 70 miles (112km) north of Norway a week ago.

Her last reported position to owners British United Trawlers (BUT) was on 7 February when she was fishing in the Barents sea.

The president of the British Trawler Federation, WA Suddaby has described the ship's disappearance as "the worst ever single trawler tragedy".

But he urged the families to remain optimistic and to bear in mind that the Gaul was built to the highest standards.

The ships owners are baffled by the disappearance of the 18-month-old ship. It did not issue any mayday signal and was fitted with the latest technology to deal with harsh conditions in the Arctic, including modern radio equipment and a dual-power system.

The Gaul was even nicknamed "the Unsinkable" when it set sail from Hull on 22 January.

Mystery

Derek Oswald, Director of BUT, said: "The Gaul is a first-class vessel, designed and built to fish in these northern latitudes and we are unable to envisage how this vessel can have disappeared without some communication being transferred."

Fears that the ship was lost were heightened by BUT's decision to issue the crew's list yesterday.

Names are not usually released unless there is virtually no hope of finding survivors.

British and Norwegian vessels, naval ships, helicopters and RAF aircraft have searched for the last six days in bleak weather conditions for any sign of the vessel.

Snow storms, high winds, low clouds and poor visibility hampered the hunt for the ship.

There was a glimmer of hope yesterday when an RAF Nimrod plane spotted an orange marker buoy.

On closer inspection, the HMS Hermes found that it did not come from the missing trawler.

Officers finally decided to halt the operations today after almost a week of searching.

Twenty-six of the ship's crew are from Hull, including the youngest a 17-year-old assistant cook.

Prayers for the missing men were said at the Fisherman's Mission near Hull's fish dock yesterday.

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