But there are plenty of other unexplained incidents when trawlers are towed backwards at speed, and the only rational explanation is that their gear has been snagged by a submarine, and nuclear-powered submarines are some of the most powerful vessels anywhere, capable of travelling at speeds of as much as 30 knots while submerged.
The two recent near-sinkings coincide poignantly with what looks like the final act in the long-running Bugaled Breizh story. The French trawler from Loctudy was fishing in British waters off the Lizard on the 15th of January 2004 when it sank suddenly and the circumstances of the sinking have never been made clear despite an extensive inquiry.
