Laying of a commemorative plaque on the wreck
After the ceremony, Hervé FAUVE was left with a question, shared by many families, and a final project in mind.
The question: Why did the Minerva sink?
The project: Place a commemorative plaque on the wreck.
In both cases, it was necessary to dive on the Minerve, at a depth of 2,300 m. The new maritime prefect of Toulon had told him that he was against it. A solution needed to be found.
This was not going to prevent the commander's son from achieving these two objectives.
After the discovery, what remains to be done
Hervé FAUVE had considered the idea, similar to what the Israelis had done on the wreck of their submarine Dakar, which disappeared two days before the Minerve, of placing a commemorative plaque on the Minerve. He had raised the matter with the maritime prefect during the ceremonies that followed the discovery, but was met with a firm refusal from the maritime prefect: "This is not part of the traditions of the French Navy."
The search for the cause of the disappearance was another matter. The Navy had no intention of pursuing it; its mission ended with the discovery of the wreck.
With the help of a large number of retired submariners who had scrutinized and commented on the images of the wreck , Hervé FAUVE quickly understood that they did not allow for this. Too many elements did not appear on any of them, and those that did appear did not always appear at an angle that allowed their examination.
It then seems obvious that a new dive on the Minerve is necessary. But how can you investigate a wreck at a depth of 2,300 m?
Unexpected support
In December 2019, an American billionaire, Mr. Victor VESCOVO, through Paul-Henri NARGEOLET , the Titanic specialist, spontaneously offered, without any compensation, to dive on the Minerve aboard his personal submarine, the Limiting Factor, designed to dive to 14,000m.
This dive will allow you to:
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Place a commemorative plaque on the wreck itself, which was financed by a collection that brought together nearly 500 donors (direct or grouped)
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Gather additional information, as the images taken in July 2019 were not sufficient to understand the causes of the tragedy.
After obtaining approval from the Navy (to ensure, among other things, that the area would be free without exercise) and from the DRASSM (Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research), which "owns" the site, this dive takes place on February 1 and Sunday, February 2, 2020.
2 dives were necessary and allowed us to achieve the set goal.
The plaque now rests next to the Minerva's access hatch.
Following are some images filmed by the Navy.
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From left to right: Christophe Agnus, Victor Vescovo, Hervé Fauve with the plate that must be submerged. @Navy
Alain Guérin leaving the airlock next to which the plate visible on the photo taken after his deposit on the Minerve was placed
