Talk:Sinking of the Spanish trawler Sonia/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Peacemaker67 (talk · contribs) 08:59, 12 July 2021 (UTC)

Will look at this shortly. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 08:59, 12 July 2021 (UTC)

OK, interesting article and incident. A few comments:

Lead

• the lead begs a number of questions, which also need to be explained in detail and cited in the body:
  • what the rules of engagement for the INS were regarding the use of small arms to stop vessels suspected of fishing illegally, this also needs to be covered in the body and cited there

Good point. The detail will be in Symmons (1993) which I don't have and is, unfortunately, quite rare on the book market. It seems to be relatively widely held by law libraries so I've dropped a note at WP:REX to see if someone could scan the relevant pages. Apologies, I should have done this before nominating - Dumelow (talk) 07:15, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

A copy was available on Internet Archive, from which I;ve added a lot more info on the legal background - Dumelow (talk) 08:48, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• • state in the lead that the Sonia was in Irish territorial waters at the time

Done - Dumelow (talk) 09:24, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• • given the armament of Aisling, does "small arms" just refer to rifle and machine guns, but not to 20 mm (which is sort of on the margin between small arms and artillery)?

I've found more on this in Symmons. The Irish foreign ministry was asked if the heavier weaponry could be used but decided against. Added into the article and removed "small arms", naming rifles and machine guns instead - Dumelow (talk) 08:48, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• • what did the crew say about why the Sonia was taking on water? Did they state what damage had been caused by the small arms fire from the Aisling? Did the crew of the Achat or RAF SAR helo observe anything in terms of damage to the trawler?
  • what does "targeting the structure of the trawler" mean? Were they shooting at the superstructure (highly dangerous to the crew), waterline, engine room, or what?

I've changed this to "targeting the trawler", per below - Dumelow (talk) 09:35, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• • did the captain of the Aisling suspect at the time that the trawler might be smuggling arms to the IRA rather than illegally fishing? For example, did they have nets out at the time they were first observed?

I think the only suspicion was of fishing illegally. I've taken the IRA bit out of the lead, it's only really in the article as background as to why there might have been increased patrols/scrutiny of foreign vessels - Dumelow (talk) 09:42, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• • was there an inquiry in Ireland? Even by the INS?

I've not found any record of one. It also pre-dates the establishment of the Spanish Standing Commission for Maritime Accident and Incident Investigations - Dumelow (talk) 11:14, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

Body

• with EEC nations' fisheries protection vessels (possessive plural apostrophe)

Added - Dumelow (talk) 09:24, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• "The Ondarroa fishermen" not the same fishermen from the Sonia surely? Perhaps "Other Ondarroan vessels..."

Agreed and changed - Dumelow (talk) 09:24, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• did the trawler intercepted on 29 September 1984 contain arms and explosives?

Carrying 7 tons of weapons, shipped from Boston. I've expanded on this a bit as the Aisling was one of the ships involved and shots were fired on that occasion also - Dumelow (talk) 09:52, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• how was the Sonia hailed?

The Irish state by "all internationally recognised signals", I don't know what that means (verbally, radio, flags?) but I've added it to the article - Dumelow (talk) 09:53, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• firing using small arms in rough seas is notoriously inaccurate, do we know what sort of mount the machine guns were on, and at what ranges the small arms were fired?

I've not seen any of these details. I've found the Aisling had two 7.62mm machine guns fitted but not where or how mounted. As elsewhere I've now found that the Irish reported they thought only 20 shots hit the Sonia - Dumelow (talk) 10:07, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• how could the crew of the Ainsling know where the crew were inside the superstructure or hull of the Sonia?

Not stated. An Irish spokesperson stated only that the shots were "aimed to hit the trawler and not its crew". I've found another report that states the Irish government thought only 20 rounds hit the trawler and added this - Dumelow (talk) 09:35, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• is there any information about the time period during which the Sonia was fired on? Was this just initially, or throughout the storm? What weapons were used to fire the warning shots, and did the crew of the Sonia respond at all to them?

Not found any details to be honest. I've added a bit from a Guardian article where a Sonia crewman states they were scared by the initial shots and decided to flee. The NYT states that rifles, machine guns and the 20mm cannon were used to fire the shots which I've now added - Dumelow (talk) 11:05, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• suggest "but, if so, it would have been the only occasion in her career with the INS where it was flown." She is still in service.

She left Irish service in 2016 - Dumelow (talk) 07:15, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

I mean she is in Libyan service now, and may have a battle flag which she flies. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 07:17, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

Sorry, I misunderstood (thought the text above was from the article). "INS" now added - Dumelow (talk) 08:48, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• "the Sonia broadcast a distress signal"

Done - Dumelow (talk) 11:06, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• "in the south-west of England"

Done - Dumelow (talk) 11:05, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• comma after Ireland in "next port of call, Waterford, Ireland where"

Done - Dumelow (talk) 11:05, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

• Given File:LE Aisling.jpg is under a Flickr licence which requires attribution, I strongly recommend that the name of the Flickr account owner is given in the Summary template (Brian Clayton), the other image is fine.

That's it really, placing on hold for the above to be addressed. Nice work so far. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 01:35, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

Thanks, added. I've also since added a photo of a Sea King helicopter - Dumelow (talk) 10:26, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for reviewing Peacemaker67, I'll start working through your comments - Dumelow (talk) 07:15, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

I think I've done as much as I can on this now - Dumelow (talk) 11:17, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

This article is well-written, verifiable using reliable sources, covers the subject well, is neutral and stable, contains no plagiarism, and is illustrated by a map and photographs with acceptable licensing and appropriate captions. Passing. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 22:05, 13 July 2021 (UTC)