Keith 'Goldfinder' Jessop

DEEP sea diver Keith 'Goldfinder' Jessop has been 'recruited' to help the families of 36 men who perished when the Hull-based trawler the MV Gaul sank 26 years ago.

Keighley born Keith has agreed to become an adviser to the legal team representing the fishermen's families. They are still searching for the truth of what happened to their loved ones on board the trawler, which was lost in Norwegian fishing grounds in the Barents Sea.

Keith, an ex-marine commando said, "I am delighted to have been given this opportunity to hopefully find an answer to the questions which have been causing suffering and distress to the relatives of the men who were lost. He continued, "After reading all the reports, I am determined to the best of my ability to help relieve the anguish of the relatives of the deceased. "They have a right to know what happened to their loved ones. That is why I am doing it."

Earlier this year, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, MP for Hull East, ruled out a manned dive to investigate the wreck on safety grounds. Two risk assessment reports ruled it was too dangerous. In a letter to Mr Justice Steel, the head of the inquiry about what happened to the Gaul, Mr Prescott said: "My decision is based on consideration of risk alone. It Is not acceptable that further lives should be put at risk in investigating the tragic loss of this vessel. He added that the dive would be at the very limit of "current saturation diving equipment".

Mr Justice Steel, who is also the Wreck Commissioner, has told the families he believes a dive would be helpful. Solicitors acting for the families have been in talks with Keith, seeking his views on the possibility of a dive and to prepare a dive booklet for such a venture. Solicitor Max Gold describes Keith as the man who "did what it was said to be impossible". He was referring to Keith's historic dive in 1981 when he recovered £44 million worth of gold bars from the wreck of HMS Edinburgh, which was sunk in the Barents Sea, in May, 1942, by a German destroyer.

It is understood that the wreck of the Gaul lies in deeper water than the Edinburgh. Adds Keith: "It is deeper than the Edinburgh but it is quite feasible. A dive on the Gaul should take place to establish if the crew was on board at the time of the sinking." The loss of 36 crew is still shrouded in mystery.

The GAUL set sail for the Norwegian fishing grounds on January 22, 1974. After 11 days she was spotted in appalling weather conditions more than 70 miles north of Norway. Despite sending two private telegrams that day, the Gaul was never seen afloat again. A formal investigation into the tragedy in 1974 found that "the Gaul capsized and foundered due to being overwhelmed by a succession of heavy seas".

Last April the Marine accident investigation branch also published its findings, following a detailed search of the vessel using underwater video cameras It, too. concluded that the Gaul was lost due to "down-flooding through open weather-tight doors and hatches on her trawl deck after being 'knocked down' by several large breaking waves". But the sinking is surrounded by claims that the Gaul had been involved in cold War intelligence gathering claims rejected by the Ministry of Defence.

Last year a four-man team, led by Department of Environment, Transport and Regions official Roger Clark. travelled to the Kola Peninsular, in Russia, to examine four bodies in a bid to find out whether they were from the ship. DNA samples were taken from relatives and these were tested against samples taken from two corpses dug up in the Russian town of Nikel. But despite extensive tests, no DNA link could be ascertained.

A resumed public inquiry was given the go-ahead by John Prescott in April following the MAIB report. Mr Prescott's department agreed to fund a legal team to front the families' case, in which will be heard later this year - no bodies have ever been found...

Source:- Recent local story in Keighley Evening News.

For further information about this aspect of diving, see our Wreck Diving Section.

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