Dutch fishing trawler found 71 years after disappearing during North Sea storm
The Den Helder fishing trawler HD8, which sank with all hands during a heavy storm in the North Sea on 7 October 1954, has finally been found. Last weekend, the Foundation for the Investigation of Missing Seafarers dived to and successfully identified the missing trawler deep in the North Sea floor, about 46 kilometers off the coast of Terschelling, NH Nieuws reports.
“It is 100 percent the remains of HD8,” Cees Meeldijk of the foundation, called Stichting Onderzoek Maritieme Vermisten in Dutch, told NH Nieuws. There were five crew members on board the trawler when it sank: Wolter Bijker, Meindert Bijker, Jo van Dok, Klaas Bijl, and his namesake, Klaas Bijl. Their bodies will remain there. "It is and remains a seaman's grave,” Meeldijk said.
The foundation has been searching for the HD8, also known as Jonge Jochem, for two years. “This was truly the most difficult search ever,” Meeldijk said. The search stalled due to a lack of archive materials and photos. Last month, the trail went cold, and the foundation shelved the investigation.
That is, until former fisherman Frans Kraak (87) came across an article about the missing trawler. Kraak had worked as a cook’s mate aboard the HD8 from 1952 until the summer of 1954. On the night that it sank, young Kraak was working on another trawler, close to the HD8.
“It was a perilous night,” Kraak told NH Nieuws. “It was the height of the storm. I was 15 and not allowed on deck, but I did hear radio contact with the HD8.” Kraak contacted the foundation and gave them information about what the HD8 looked like and its whereabouts at last contact.
“We were in a completely different search area. Frans was able to tell us where they last had contact, off the coast of Terschelling,” Meeldijk said. The foundation made sonar scans of the area last week, and divers from the Wreck Dive Team Zeester began searching for the HD8 on Saturday. They found it at a depth of 35 meters, about 46 kilometers off the Terschelling coast. The HD8 lies deep in the North Sea floor. Only parts of the engine and bow, and stern of the ship are visible.
“I was thrilled when the pieces surfaced,” Meeldijk said. “This means so much to the relatives [of the missing seafarers]. The people were never found. I have never been able to let go of it. That the families can finally find closure after so many years, that they know where their fathers are, where the ship lies, is very emotional.”
The discovery of the shipwreck also left a deep impression on Frans Kraak, especially the fact that he helped find it. "I had been away from the ship for just three months when it sank. That has stayed with me the rest of my life. It's wonderful that the ship has been found for the relatives. How fortunate that my words have come true."
