called off on the afternoon of 15 February. The 1970s Formal Investigation The original Formal Investigation in 1974 concluded that the most likely reason for her loss was that she was overwhelmed by a succession of very large waves in heavy seas and capsized. The preliminary investigation had also found deficiencies in the maintenance of chutes, doors and hatches on Gauls sister ship Kurd, but the relevance of this fact was downplayed at the formal inquiry. Gaul was one of the most modern ships in the UK fishing fleet — she was only 18 months old — and relatives of the crew were reluctant to accept the investigation findings. In 1975 a TV programme claimed she had been sunk while engaging in espionage and over the years other theories, including conspiracy theories, have been advanced: She was captured and interned by the Soviet Union because she was engaged in espionage. She was sunk by a Soviet submarine for the same reason. She collided with a submarine engaged in clandestine operations. She was dragged under after snagging her trawling gear in secret undersea cables (SOSUS). The wreck is found In 1975 the Norwegian trawler Rairo reported snagging her nets on an undersea obstruction in the area where the Gaul was lost. In 1977, however, the UK government decided against launching a search based on this (and other similar) information, despite being confident that this was indeed Gaul. It was argued that such an investigation would add little new information in aid of safety at sea to justify the cost. In 1997 a TV crew, with help from Norwegian experts located the wreck exactly where Rairo had reported the snagging of her nets. She was discovered to be located some off the northern coast of Norway and lying in of water. This prompted UK Deputy Prime Minister (and Hull MP) John Prescott to ask the Marine Accident Investigation Branch of the Department for Transport to carry out extensive surveys of the wreck, which it did in 1998 and 2002. During the latter part of the underwater survey in 2002, samples of bones and other human remains were recovered from the wreck, DNA tests conducted by the Forensic Science Service established that the remains came from four of the Gaul's crew. This finding quelled suspicions that the crew had been taken from the vessel by the Russians during cold war hostilities. After reviewing