MARINE investigators do not plan to raise the wreck of a ship which sunk in Loch Fyne, with two men thought to be on-board.
A fundraising campaign to raise the Nancy Glen from the bottom of the sea loch and recover the bodies of Duncan MacDougall and Przemek Krawczyk has raised more than £150,000.
However the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said the 40-foot boat does not need to be moved as part of its safety investigation and will carry out a sonar survey next week.
The fishing vessel capsized in Loch Fyne on January 18 with the alarm raised by a third fisherman who was pulled from the water by the crew of a passing boat.
A major search was launched but no trace of Mr MacDougall or Mr Krawczyk has been found.
The Clyde Fishermen’s Trust (CFT) set up a fundraising campaign to recover the missing men and support their families.
In The National yesterday, former First Minister Alex Salmond also called on the UK Government to stop being so “heartless” and raise the vessel. “Twenty years ago the families in Peterhead went through all of this and eventually had to raise the boat themselves,” he told us.
“It is unacceptable in terms of humanity that fishermen should be left aboard sunken vessels within eyesight of the shore. It is totally unacceptable in terms of common humanity and it should be a public responsibility for the men to be recovered and given a proper burial.”
The MAIB said it has been in contact with the families about its plans for the safety investigation.
A spokesman said: “The Northern Lighthouse Board vessel NLV Pharos will be conducting a multi-beam sonar survey of the wreck of Nancy Glen for the MAIB next week.
“This is planned to take place on Monday, although it is dependent on weather and sea conditions on the day. Pharos has hull-mounted equipment that operates from the surface to map the seabed and potential obstacles around the wreck, which is lying at a depth of over 140m.
“This data is important to allow us to plan and execute a successful underwater remotely operated vehicle survey of Nancy Glen.
“Currently, we do not anticipate that we will need to raise the wreck of Nancy Glen as part of our safety investigation.”
Earlier this week, Elaine Whyte of the CFT, said it was very likely the men are still in the boat.
She said: “Currently the site of the accident is in view for the families and it would be fair to say they are in torture, knowing their boys to be so close but unrecovered.
“The families are absolutely desperate to reclaim their men, and this would involve the lifting of the vessel. Neither family is interested specifically in the boat, just the men.
“One wife is keen to send her husband home to Poland, the other family just wish to rest their son, father and husband in his home of Tarbert.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here