Investigators to begin raising wreckage of sunken L'Ecume II fishing boat in April

The L'Ecume II sank following the collision in December 2022 with three crew members on board. Credit: ITV Channel

Investigators looking into a fishing boat collision last year say the wreckage could explain the accident.

Three fishermen were aboard the L'Ecume II when it collided with the Commodore Goodwill on 8 December 2022.

The bodies of Filipino crewmembers Larry Simyunn and Jervis Baligat have been recovered but skipper Michael Michieli has still not been found.

Michael Michieli, Jervis Baligat and Larry Simyunn were all on board the L'Ecume II when it collided with the Condor Commodore Goodwill. Credit: Ports of Jersey

Investigators are now beginning the lengthy and complicated process of raising the wreckage from the sea bed 40 meters below.

Police hope to raise the vessel in April, but this could change as police need to wait for the appropriate weather and tidal window to have it raised.

Senior Investigating Officer, Andy Shearwood, says he hopes raising the wreckage may help locate Mr Michieli.

Mr Shearwood said: "By the time L'Ecume is recovered we'll be into the fourth month and Michael hasn't been found anywhere else.

"If he hasn't been found anywhere else that would tend to suggest that he's perhaps still on the vessel itself so I retain the family's hope and I'm hopeful that we'll recover him during this operation".

Police have gone through more than 165 hours of underwater CCTV footage which was collected by specialist robots and looked into more than 400 lines of enquiry as part of their investigation.

Initial observations from the footage show that the remains of L'Ecume II are heavily damaged.

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