§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what information he has about the sinking of the fishing vessel Copia; what consideration he has given to recovering the ship and crew; what representations he has received on the subject; and if he will make a statement;
(2) where responsibility lies for the recovery of bodies on fishing vessels sunk in inland waters; what arrangements are made for such a recovery in the case of the Copia; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Norris[holding answer 15 March 1994]: The marine accident investigation branch inquiries into the accident are in progress. No representations have been received by this Department on the subject, other than the letter of 7 March from the hon. Member.
The Department will not contemplate salvaging a wreck except where there are firm grounds for surmising that raising a wreck would establish the nature and cause of the accident and there are no other means of achieving this.
There is no general requirement on the part of any official organisation to recover bodies in such circumstances. Nevertheless, immediately after the accident when police divers located the wreck they looked for the bodies of the crew, but unfortunately without success.