Queen of the North - update 14
Thursday, June 21st, 2007 - 9:15 am
BC Ferries reopens Queen of the North investigation
Three months after B.C. Ferries (BCF) released the results of its internal inquiry into the sinking of the Queen of the North, the company says it will reopen the investigation, based upon recently obtained data from the computer hard drive of the ship’s electronic chart system. In addition to the hard-drive information, BCF CEO David Hahn said, “a lot of other things have come up that need to be revisited. And that’s what we’re doing.”
A television report said that the company has new information about “the presence or non-presence of the fourth officer [Karl Lilgert] on the bridge during the critical minutes prior to the grounding.” Lilgert was the officer in charge of the bridge at the time.
BCF’s internal Divisional Inquiry into the sinking relied upon Transportation Safety Board (TSB) reconstructions of the ferry’s course and speed before, during and after it collided with Gil Island. The TSB recovered the hard drive from the ferry’s electronic charting system on June 15, 2006 but refused to share the hard drive’s raw data with BCF until the latter launched a lawsuit in May 2007. BCF and the TSB negotiated an out-of-court settlement within days of the suit’s filing.
Lilgert and Second Officer Keven Hilton participated in the TSB investigation but, on the advice of their lawyers, refused to co-operate with the BCF inquiry. BCF has accused the TSB of relying too heavily on Lilgert’s testimony in the TSB draft report that has been circulated to stakeholders in advance of the final public report.
The Queen of the North’s third bridge officer at the time of the sinking, Quartermaster Karen Bricker, who was at the helm, co-operated with both investigations. However, her evidence was largely discounted in BCF’s own report, which blamed the sinking on a crew failure to make a normal course adjustment as the ferry entered Wright Sound. Mr. Lilgert’s lawyer has said that the TSB draft report put most of the blame for the sinking on technology failures, rather than on human error.
All three officers were fired shortly after BCF released its report into the sinking.
The TSB’s final report was expected to be released this summer, but that seems optimistic after it granted one party (presumably BCF) a 30-day extension to submit comments on the draft report.
BCF Won’t Raise Sunken Queen
BCF stated in early June that it would not attempt to salvage the Queen of the North, which lies 400 metres below the surface, because the risks outweigh the benefits. B.C. Ferries and the Gitga’at First Nation of Hartley Bay fiercely disagree on how much fuel was spilled and how much likely remains. The ferry carried something less than 220,000 litres of diesel plus 20,000 litres of light oil and 220 litres of hydraulic oil when it sank.
The Gitga’at have threatened a lawsuit to press their demand that the wreck be raised. They claim oil that continues to bubble up to the surface is otherwise likely to contaminate shellfish and marine resources for decades to come. (Sources: Globe and Mail; Vancouver Sun)
