22 February 2023
- Wreck of the L’Ecume II fishing trawler to be raised
- Raising the wreck will aid the investigation and offer potential new evidence
- Families have welcomed the decision
The wreckage of L’Ecume II fishing trawler, which sank in Jersey waters on 8 December 2022
following a collision between the Commodore Goodwill and the L’Ecume II trawler, is to be raised
for evidential and humanitarian reasons.
The proposal has been welcomed by families affected by the tragedy.
The States of Jersey Police
have made the recommendation as it may assist in both the forensic and overall investigation.
The logistics of raising the wreck are being worked on with Ports of Jersey, who, using their
maritime expertise, will be commissioning the raise with a specialist third party operator.
It is
estimated to take around six weeks to initially mobilise the specialist team in Jersey. Following this
mobilisation, the progress of the operation will be dependent on favourable weather conditions
and other factors. Further operational details will be provided in due course.
The Deputy Chief Minister, Deputy Kirsten Morel, said: “Raising the L’Ecume II will assist with the
ongoing police investigation by providing access to potential best available evidence. It will also be
an important thing to do for the bereaved families, and therefore there is a humanitarian aspect to
raising the wreck.
“My thoughts remain with the families of Mick Michieli, Jervis Ramirez Baligat, and Larry Simyunn.
The bodies of Jervis and Larry, which were brought ashore in December, have been repatriated to
their families in the Philippines and they have been laid to rest in their hometowns. I would like to
thank our External Relations Department who liaised with both the Embassy of the Philippines in
London and the British Embassy in Manila for their support in ensuring safe repatriation. I would
also like to thank the States of Jersey Police Family Liaison Officers who remain in regular contact
with all the families.”
An independent investigation into the maritime incident (known as Operation Nectar), is being led
by States of Jersey Police and is ongoing.
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