THE wreck of the L’Ecume II fishing trawler is to be raised from the seabed, the government has announced.
During a media briefing to provide an update on three major incidents that recently struck the Island, senior civil servant Richard Corrigan said that the decision to raise the vessel had been taken for both ‘evidential gain and for humanitarian reasons’.
The trawler, skippered by Michael Michieli, sank after colliding with Condor’s Commodore Goodwill freight ship off Jersey’s west coast at around 5.30am on Thursday 8 December.
The bodies of Filipino crewmen Jervis Ramirez Baligat and Larry Simyunn were later recovered from the wreck – and have since been repatriated and laid to rest – but the body of Mr Michieli was not found.
Mr Corrigan said raising the vessel would allow for a land-based inspection, and would also help to ‘conclusively’ determine whether the body of its skipper was trapped aboard.
‘Instruction will be given to Ports of Jersey to commission specialist contractors to do this.
‘It is not something that is within our immediate capabilities within government or within Ports – we will need to bring a specialist vessel and crew into the Island to deliver this particular aspect of the operation,’ he added, estimating that it would take ‘around six weeks’ to secure the necessary resources.
Deputy Chief Minister Kirsten Morel said: ‘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.’
He added: ‘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.’
