Relatives of Trident fisherman killed after trawler sunk hold memorial service at sea

STV
Memorial: Mrs Ritchie paid her respects at the site where the Trident sunk.© Northern Studios

A memorial service has been held at sea for the seven men who lost their lives when their north-east trawler sunk nearly 40 years ago.

The fishermen died when the Trident was lost in stormy seas off the coast at Wick on October 3, 1974.

On Saturday, Jeannie Ritchie, whose husband Alex Ritchie and father George Nicol were among the seven who died, sailed from Wick to the spot where the Trident sank in 1974.

It was the first time she has ever visited the site and she laid flowers on the sea where the sunken trawler lay 200ft below.

In February, a public inquiry into the deaths ruled that “no one” was to blame for the deaths of Mr Ritchie, Mr Nicol, Robert Cordiner, Tom Thain, James Tait, Alex Summers and Alex Mair in the sinking of the Trident.

Ms Ritchie said at the time that the report did not give the families of those who died any “closure”.

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