France 3 documentary on submarine menace broadcast

Rapport publié le 30/10/08 2:47 dans Media et Internet par Cathal Ó Luain pour Cathal Ó Luain

France 3 television channel on its THALASSA programme transmitted a documentary sur "les dangers que les manoeuvres des sous-marins font peser sur les bateaux" last week. The celtic League's Director of Information Bernard Moffatt was interviewed at

A documentary outlining the dangers posed by naval submarine activity to motor fishing vessels over the past several decades was broadcast on Friday evening by France 3 television. The programme is likely to be rebroadcast on TV5 (SKY Channel 799 - 8:00pm Tuesday 28th October)

The Celtic League provided significant background information for the programme from data it had built up over the years on the issue as part of its military monitoring campaign. Filming took place in Brittany, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

The Celtic League carried out an extensive military monitoring programme from the late 1970s and also compiled a substantial dossier of incidents including details of a number of suspicious sinkings in which fishermen's lives were lost. The League ended its campaign in the early 1990s, by which time both the International Maritime Organisation and various National Governments had accepted there was a problem and acted on it.

The France 3 crew filmed the Celtic League archive files which are held by Manx National Heritage in the Manx Museum Library and also conducted interviews with the Celtic League Director of Information in the Museum Library. They also filmed interviews at various places on the west coast of the Island overlooking 'submarine alley', the deep water passage down the west coast of the Island through which submarines from the Faslane and Holy Loch naval bases made passage.

Part of the impetus for this most recent focus on the issue is the loss (in suspicious circumstances) of the Breton MFV Bugaled Breizh. The Bugaled Breizh sank suddenly in January 2004 off the Lizard in an area where a major NATO exercise was about to get under way. Concerns about possible military involvement have not been clarified satisfactorily.