FV BREIZ

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28 volunteer sea rescuers became unavailable after prosecution

The day after the trial, at the maritime court in Le Havre, of five people, prosecuted after the sinking of the 'Breiz', which caused the death of three young sailors in January 2021, off the coast of Lion-sur-Mer, the 28 sea rescue volunteers from the SNSM station in Trouville-Deauville have decided to be unavailable. The lifeboat “Michel d’Ornano” from the Trouville-Deauville SNSM station will not go out to sea until further notice. The volunteer sea rescuers were deeply shocked by the legal developments following the tragedy of the sinking: 'What happens to one of the most experienced among us can happen to us tomorrow, we are bruised and upset. We ask ourselves many questions about the extent of the risks incurred by any volunteer normally carrying out their mission. In the absence of convincing answers to these questions, the station's volunteers have decided to be unavailable and will therefore not respond to Cross calls." In his pleading on April 5, Me Eric Najsztat, one of the lawyers of the captain of the SNSM boat who is tried for negligence and forgery in a ship's document, criticized the public prosecutor for "blackening the picture of someone who been an impeccable rescuer more than 900 times in his life.” In addition to a one-year suspended prison sentence, Le Havre prosecutor Bruno Dieudonné also requested on April 4 a two-year sailing ban against the rescuer. It is a “desire for social humiliation”, estimated Mr. Najsztat, who pleaded for acquittal.

Prosecutor requests 12 months of suspended imprisonment against master of lifeboat

The trial against five following the sinking of the 'Breiz' ends on April 5 at the maritime court in Le Havre. On April 4, twelve months of suspended imprisonment were requested against the skipper of the SNSM lifeboat, while extreme tension invaded the courtroom with the pleadings of the four lawyers of the civil parties. Tension was also increased in the afternoon with the requisitions of the public prosecutor, Bruno Dieudonné. For two hours, he denounced that everyone avoids their responsibilities. He also dissected a chain of negligence and faults where everyone failed in their mission, especially regarding two agents of the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea (DDTM) of Calvados. He denounced serious misconduct for having registered Quantin Varin as master of the 'Breiz' when he did not have the qualification. He requested principle sentences against the two officials at the discretion of the President of the court. He also requested six months suspended imprisonment for the co-owner and the maritime surveyor as well as €30,000 for the latter's company: "You should have banned Quentin Varin and his two sailors from going to sea...The major problem on this trawler was the weight and that the waterline height mark was systematically submerged." Finally, the prosecutor spoke to the master of the SNSM boat in Ouistreham. With the support of an expert, he denounced "a trailer too short, speed too high, lack of exchanges with Breiz, and a sudden change of course". He asked for twelve months of imprisonment with a suspended sentence and a ban on sailing for two years. The bitterness of the many rescuers present on site to support their colleague was strong. Defense arguments continue on April 5. The decision will be deliberated.

Skipper of lifeboat refuated negligence accusation

Philippe Capdeville, 62, the master of the SNSM lifeboat which assisted the 'Breiz', refuted on April 3 in court that he had been negligent. He has been working for the SNSM since 1986 and was the skipper of the Ouistreham lifeboat since 2008, and responded for three hours to the magistrates. On the night of the shipwreck he had been alerted by the CROSS, and the ALB 'SNSM 091 'set sail in 15 minutes. Capdeville admitted to not having been aware of the state of the 'Breiz', a 40-year-old vessel, and overloaded before even starting fishing. When asked why he did not ask the fishermen to throw the boxes of shells on the deck into the water, which could have avoided listing and sinking, he replied: “I can’t imagine a fishing skipper throwing his catch overboard.” The very experienced rescuer, with 900 missions, claimed to have reacted to alerts launched by the towed ship, reduced speed and changed course. “It is not normal for a boat to sink so quickly. All hypotheses are possible. A wave, we don’t know where it came from. I don’t feel like I was negligent. You can't blame everything on me. We're dealing with professionals!”, he replied, referring to the three sailors who lost their lives. In addition to the prosecution for non-compliance with the Colreg convention, Capdeville is also accused of forgery, which concerns the operation schedules (arrival in the area, start of towing etc., which he entered in the logbook, which conflict with those noted by the maritime gendarmerie investigator. He considered that these accusations were related to the vocabulary used. “Why lie when everything is verifiable?” he recalled. The trial is scheduled until April 5.