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BC Ferries sinking: all rescued
March 22, 2006

BC Ferries has confirmed that all 101 passengers and crew aboard the Queen of the North have been safely evacuated. The 125m-long, 8,889-gt vessel, built in 1969, struck a rock off Gil Island in Wright Sound at about 0043 today and sank within an hour. Passengers were removed to Hartley Bay, a village 120km from the accident site in the Queen Charlotte Islands and some were taken aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Sir Wilfred Laurier. According to a BC Ferries statement, those passengers will be taken to the port of Prince Rupert. The ferry had departed from Prince Rupert at 2000 yesterday en route to Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island. A Canadian military Cormorant helicopter and Buffalo aircraft, coast guard vessels, fishing boats and personal craft responded to the sinking vessel. No serious injuries or fatalities have been reported by the Canadian Coast Guard or BC Ferries to date. There were 16 vehicles on board, according to BC Ferries president David Hahn. Canada's Transportation Safety Board and Transport Canada have been notified of the sinking.

Fairplay

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Queen of the North Sinks

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Ferry and Marine Union president gives credit to a great crew
March 22, 2006

VICTORIA -- B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union President Jackie Miller says it's likely due to the superb crew of the Queen of the North that there was no loss of life or serious injury.

Miller says replacement of the northern route vessels is overdue. “It's something that was destined to happen about 15 years ago was the replacement of the Queen of Prince Rupert and the Queen of the North should have been replaced as well once the single compartment issue was identified with the capsizing of the Harold Free Enterprise, so we're very anxious now and we will be looking forward to the government and B.C. Ferries working on a rebuild program for the north and getting service back up there,” Miller said.

Miller says the Marine Superintendent Captain Daldren, who was apparently on board the Queen of the North this morning, has been one of those pushing hard for replacement ships for the north.

CKNW AM980

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Questions swamp crash
By MATT KIELTYKA
March 23, 2006

Skippers familiar with the Inside Passage are baffled how the Queen of the North could have run aground yesterday, leaving 99 passengers waiting for rescue in the dark.

B.C. Ferries said it doesn't yet know why the ferry struck a rock, which led to the vessel sinking, however local captains speculate operator error may be the reason.

"I feel somebody was sleeping at the switch," said Dave Dalell, manager of Wainwright Marine Services Ltd. in Prince Rupert. "It's not a high-risk area."

The B.C. Ferries vessel was off the north tip of Gil Island, about 75 miles south of Prince Rupert, when it hit a rock and began to take-on water.

Despite 40 knot winds, poor visibility and two-metre waves at the time of the accident, Dalell said that radar and other instrumentation should have made it easy to navigate the area.

Doug Davis, a skipper at West Coast Launch, a Prince Rupert charter and adventure company, with more than 20 years of experience navigating those waters, agrees.

"It sounds like a huge navigational error because I can't think of how they could have hit ground on that route," he said. "The water in the area is extremely deep. With today's navigation electronics, it's inexcusable for a ship of that size to sink."

B.C. Ferries spokesman Mark Stefanson would not say whether the ferry was off course, noting they needed more time to investigate.

Stefanson did say weather and choppy conditions would be looked at.

"The northern waters are a lot more challenging than the southern waters, there is no doubt about it," he said. "The bottom line is, weather can be extremely challenged and we're not sure what role the weather may [have played]."

Although all passengers were taken to nearby Hartley Bay, two have since gone missing.

At press time, Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette remained unaccounted for and were not among the 87 passengers taken back to Prince Rupert by the Coast Guard by late afternoon - 11 others were airlifted to Prince Rupert Hospital from the scene.

A missing persons case have been handed over to the RCMP.

All 99 people on board the ferry were put into life rafts and awaited rescue crews to heed their mayday call almost immediately after striking ground.

Coast Guard and Transportation Safety Board officials remained on the water investigating the crash site all day, which was marked by debris and oil.

Environment Minister Barry Penner said his staff has set up an incident command centre in Prince Rupert. A contractor is also on the scene working to contain any oil spilling from the wreck.

Penner wasn't able to say exactly how much the diesel fuel the Queen of the North was carrying at the time but the ship's total fuel capacity is 220,000 litres.

24 Hours Vancouver

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Critics say sinking isn't big surprise
By ROBYN STUBBS, 24 HOURS
March 23, 2006

The latest incident involving B.C. Ferries isn't coming as a big surprise to critics of the corporation's aging fleet.

The Queen of the North "should have already been replaced with a newer, safer ferry," said B.C. Shipyard General Workers' Federation president George MacPherson yesterday.

The problem, he says, is with the single-hull design of older ferries, including the Queen of the North, which don't have the extra layer of protection that all newer ships have.

"A single-hull vessel like this is simply not as safe as a modern ship with a double hull and (does not have) compartments to reduce the risk of sinking in the event of a grounding."

But B.C. Ferries said it's too soon to say whether a double-hulled vessel would've fared any better.

"The bottom line is, the second hull has more to do with water on the car deck and our information is that the engine room flooded, so it's more about a breach of the hull, not the number of compartments in it," said B.C. Ferries spokesman Mark Stefanson yesterday.

The Queen of the North was replacing the Queen of Prince Rupert, which was dry-docked March 4 for servicing.

24 Hours Vancouver

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Ferry sinking could leave businesses adrift
By MATT KIELTYKA, 24 HOURS
March 23, 2006

The financial waves caused by the sinking of the Queen of the North are already starting to lap up on the shores of Prince Rupert's business community.

Bruce Wishart, the executive director of Tourism Prince Rupert, said the ferry service is the "main highway" in the region and its loss could be costly.

"The implications on the tourism industry here are going to be very clear in the near future," said Wishart. "We need a safe and reliable system in place to keep the community moving."

The Queen of the North was the only ferry that travelled from Prince Rupert and Port Hardy during the winter.

Along with carrying passengers, the ferry also carried supplies to small coastal communities.

The other ferry that travels the route in the summer, the Queen of Prince Rupert, is currently in drydock for annual refitting.

"Service has been suspended until we can get the Queen of Price Rupert ready," conceded B.C. Ferries' Mark Stefanson, who wants to see the vessel rushed back into service by the end of next week.

He also said the company will look into contracting barge services to deliver supplies.

Greg Palmer, who runs the Palmerville Lodge, a Prince Rupert grizzly bear watching getaway, said losing ferry service for any length of time could hurt.

"It'll hit us pretty hard, but there are a lot of communities from here down the coast that need those supplies," he said. "We'll have to see what effect it has in the long term."

24 Hours Vancouver

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Alaska offers ferry support to Prince Rupert
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 23, 2006

JUNEAU, Alaska -- Gov. Frank Murkowski on Thursday offered assistance to British Columbia travelers after the Queen of the North ferry sinking near Prince Rupert.

The governor has offered to allow an Alaska Marine Highway System ferry assigned to weekly runs between Bellingham, Wash., and Ketchikan to make stops in Prince Rupert.

Currently, the mainline ferry Matanuska can carry 499 passengers and 88 vehicles. It is assigned to the so-called "Bellingham run."

Port Hardy, British Columbia, is at the terminus of the Queen of the North route from Prince Rupert. It is already connected to Bellingham by road and shuttle ferry.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Bellingham ferry to Alaska may make extra stop in B.C.
Ferry loss threatens northern coastal economy, Canadian officials say
ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 24, 2006

PRINCE RUPERT, British Columbia -- Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski, seeking to help British Columbia coastal communities left stranded by the sinking of a ferry, has offered to allow the state ferry Matanuska to stop in Prince Rupert on its regular weekly runs between Ketchikan, Alaska, and Bellingham.

B.C.’s Queen of the North ferry sank in Wright Sound early Wednesday, leaving some isolated communities with hundreds of residents without a regular contact -- and its economic support -- with the outside world.

Before the Queen of the North sank, it helped keep the economy afloat in otherwise isolated communities with hundreds of residents.

Towns and villages on the northern B.C. coast and in the Queen Charlotte Islands relied on the 409-foot ferry to provide much more than a scenic ride for tourists on regular runs between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy at the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

Many communities lack roads and depend mainly on ferry service for food and general cargo. In most cases, the only alternatives are float planes and barges.

Two people were missing and presumed drowned after the vessel, carrying 101 passengers and crew, hit a rock early Wednesday and sank about an hour after those aboard took to life rafts in choppy seas and bone-chilling 45 mph winds. Everyone else on board was rescued, with only a few minor injuries reported, after the Canadian coast guard and residents of the small Indian community of Hartley Bay raced to the scene.

Early reports that passengers Gerald Foisy, 44, and Shirley Rosette, 43, both of 100 Mile House, had been seen among those who were rescued turned out to be false, British Columbia Ferries President David Hahn said Thursday.

In economic terms, the Queen of the North has been the “main driver” for the north coast and the loss is “devastating,” said Steve Smith, general manager of the Crest Hotel in Prince Rupert and chairman of a regional ferry advisory committee.

“For the people on the Queen Charlotte Islands, it’s their only conduit to the mainland for groceries, medical supplies and goods and services,” Smith said. “A lot of stuff moves on the water.”

Then there is the potential impact on tourism if replacement ferry service is delayed or inadequate.

“I hope we are fortunate enough to be able to charter a ship and do some configuration changes to the route and make it work,” he said.

Acting Mayor Tony Briglio told reporters his counterpart in Masset asked him to pass on the word that the town is out of milk.

“We’re hoping there’s going to be a quick resolve in terms of getting some replacement vessel here,” Briglio said.

Murkowski’s offer to allow the state ferry Matanuska to stop in Prince Rupert could help.

The Matanuska can carry 499 passengers and 88 vehicles, compared with 700 passengers and 115 for the Queen of the North, which covered a 280-mile route.

In Shearwater, Doug Sharkey, retired and a member of the local chamber of commerce, said 90 percent of the food for that part of the coast comes by ferry, as well as all building materials and manufactured goods.

For the immediate future, though, Sharkey said residents of the isolated coastal communities are in no danger of being without supplies.

“Nobody lives here without a stockpile of food,” said Sharkey.

The “biggest concern is not what happens in the short term but medium term,” said Trevor Jarvis, village administrator in Masset. “What’s going to happen in the summer? We’ve had a couple of good tourism years here in Masset, and I’d hate to see that drop.”

There were reports of hurried purchasing of goods in the Queen Charlottes, although Hahn and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell promised renewed shipments as soon as possible.

“In terms of storage, there may not be ferry service, but there will be supply service to be there for people whether it’s produce, milk, or whatever ... and we’ll work with B.C. Ferries to make sure it happens,” Campbell said.

Summer ferry service remains less clear, however. Hahn said the Queen of Prince Rupert, now undergoing a refit, was scheduled to remain in drydock until May 12 but will be rushed back into service by late next week.

“Normal levels would be having two ships in the middle of the summer,” said Hahn. “I think we’ve got some hard work to do in finding alternate means.”

The ferry corporation has contracted with an outside firm to provide barge service to the Queen Charlottes and north coast.

The Bellingham Herald

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Ferry on autopilot at time of sinking: sources
Dirk Meissner
March 27, 2006

VICTORIA -- The doomed B.C. Ferries vessel Queen of the North was on autopilot when it went off course and sank after striking Gil Island, sources told Global TV on Monday.

The two members of the bridge crew also failed to get the problem under control, said Global, citing sources close to the investigation and people who had spoken to crew members.

The three-member bridge crew normally take lunch between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. on the 15-hour overnight voyage between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy, on Vancouver Island.

The ship sank in about 400 metres of water around 1:30 a.m. last Wednesday, an hour after tearing its bottom out on the rocks of Gil Island.

Although 99 people passengers and crew made it to shore, two passengers are missing and presumed dead.

Global said the ferry was on autopilot as it neared Gil Island, where it was scheduled to make a turn.

An alarm sounded as it veered off course moments before the collision.

That triggered a cascading series of errors, one ferry official told Global. The key mistake was a failure to reduce speed, causing the ship to sail past it's turning point and plough into the rocks of Gil Island at 19 knots.

The two crew members also failed to ask for help from other officers to cope with the off-course warning, sources told Global.

The investigation so far has apparently also ruled out drugs or alcohol as factors in the accident.

The Canadian Press

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Ferry union president blasts 'armchair navigators'
Dirk Meissner
March 28, 2006

VICTORIA -- The president of B.C.'s ferry workers' union took aim Tuesday at what she called "armchair navigators'' publicly speculating about the cause of last week's sinking of the passenger ferry Queen of the North.

Jackie Miller, president of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union, said BC Ferries president David Hahn, a former ferry captain and unnamed ferry employees are making statements that could harm the integrity of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigation.

"Armchair navigation is never helpful in these types of situations,'' she said.

Lewis Glentworth, who retired from BC Ferries last September after sailing for 30 years in the northern waters where the Queen of the North sank, said he believes human error caused the vessel to crash into Gil Island at full speed.

Hahn said Monday the ship was on autopilot when it sank, but refused to comment on the cause of the sinking, saying the safety board has yet to conclude its investigation.

Miller, who praised the rescue efforts of the crew, said she was incensed by media reports citing unnamed sources suggesting the Queen of the North was on autopilot when it went off course and that a series of human errors caused the crash.

"What this report is based on is rumour and speculation,'' she said.

"There is a confidential transportation and safety board investigation that's ongoing and it's important, it's critical that the integrity of that investigation be protected.''

The union will not confirm or deny any of the details in the Global TV report, said Miller.

The Global report, citing sources close to the investigation and people who had spoken to crew members, said two members of the bridge crew -- a third was on a lunch break -- failed to get the problem under control.

An alarm sounded as it veered off course moments before the collision.

That triggered a cascading series of errors, one ferry official told Global. The key mistake was a failure to reduce speed, causing the ship to sail past its turning point and plough into rocks at Gil Island.

The two crew members also failed to ask for help from other officers to cope with the off-course warning, the sources said.

The ship sank in about 400 metres of water around 1:30 a.m. last Wednesday, an hour after tearing its bottom out.

Although 99 passengers and crew made it to shore, two passengers -- Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette, a couple from 108 Mile House -- are missing and presumed dead.

"There was no way to corroborate who that ferry official was, this fictitious ferry official,'' Miller said, referring to the television report.

The union intends to co-operate fully with the investigation "to ensure that the truth is found out and whatever safety deficiencies there are at BC Ferries that they're corrected.''

Miller also lashed out at Glentworth, even though he said he can't believe problems with the ship's autopilot caused it to crash and sink.

"I'm very disappointed in Mr. Glentworth,'' she said. "It's very easy to cast judgment from the shore. It's not so easy to be on the ship dealing with the situation.''

Glentworth said Tuesday he understands that Miller would be upset but the evidence continues to mount that human error caused the ferry to crash and sink.

"I have not been judgmental at all,'' he said. "I have merely said that one of two things could have happened: mechanical failure or human error and I think we all know where it's going.''

Glentworth said there has to be more behind the crash than the crew wrestling with an autopilot problem.

"You don't do that,'' he said. "You stop the ship. You yell for help. You get the old man (captain) out of bed. If the malfunction was that irreconcilable, then the ship should have been stopped.''

The ship crashing into Gil Island at 19 knots -- 35 kilometres per hour -- "tells me that somebody, somewhere was not aware of the gravity of the situation,'' Glentworth said.

Meanwhile, BC Ferries confirmed Tuesday the company's health and safety director resigned after the ferry sinking.

Darin Bowland resigned for personal reasons, said Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.

The Transportation Safety Board released a series of photos and video of the Queen of the North on the ocean bottom.

Underwater images obtained from a submersible equipped with video cameras show the vessel is under 426 metres of water on the ocean floor resting upright in silt.

BC Ferries said Tuesday the one-person submersible it contracted to scan the wreck completed its assessment and has left the site.

Meanwhile, a Vancouver lawyer has launched what he hopes will become a class action lawsuit representing passengers on the ferry.

David Varty filed the suit on behalf of Maria and Alex Kotais, who were in the process of moving from Kitimat to Nanaimo when their vehicle went down with the ship last week.

They lost valuable personal belongings, including clothing, family photos and heirlooms, jewelry, and crucial documents.

The suit, in language common to such actions, says the sinking was caused "solely by the negligence and fault'' of B.C. Ferries.

The suit also claims the company is liable because it continued to operate the Queen of the North even though the ship had only a single compartment hull, rather than a safer multiple-compartment hull.

Ferries has not yet responded to the suit, which must first be certified by a judge before it can go ahead as a class-action lawsuit.

In another development, Calgary-based oil giant Enbridge said B.C. residents don't have to worry about the safety of oil tankers plying north coast waters.

Enbridge said only tankers that meet the strictest standards and have double hulls would be used if a proposed oil pipeline and marine terminal on the north coast goes ahead.

Glenn Herchak, an Enbridge spokesman, said tugboats would escort the ships in Douglas Channel for navigation and safety purposes.

Enbridge wants to build an oil pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat and hopes to submit an application to regulators within the next three months.

Environmentalists and aboriginal people along the north coast have said the ferry sinking is a cautionary note against approving the plan.

The Canadian Press

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Canadian ferry sinking raises oil tanker concerns
By Allan Dowd
March 29, 2006

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Plans for more oil tankers to ply the waters of Canada's Pacific coast should be dropped after last week's sinking of a ferry in the same rugged area, an environmental group said on Tuesday.

Cleanup crews are trying to contain diesel fuel leaking from the ferry Queen of the North, which hit rocks about 75 miles south of Prince Rupert, British Columbia last Wednesday. Ninety-nine people were rescued, but two passengers are missing and presumed dead.

The BC Ferries ship sank in the Inside Passage near the route that tankers would use to reach Kitimat, British Columbia, and a proposed Enbridge Inc. pipeline that would carry crude oil from Alberta's oil sands.

"B.C.'s north coast is a sensitive and highly productive ecosystem, and an oil spill here would devastate marine environments and the communities that depend on them," the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) said.

The cause of the ferry's sinking is under investigation, but media reports have raised questions about the ship's auto-pilot system and the actions of the bridge crew. The vessel strayed off course before it hit a rocky island.

The 410-foot (125-meter) vessel, which was carrying an estimated 58,500 gallons of diesel and light oil, is completely submerged in about 1,400 feet of water.

Environmental damage from the fuel slowly leaking from the vessel as been limited so far, but CPAWS said it still demonstrates the difficulty of cleaning up a spill in the relatively isolated coastal area.

"Tankers would pass right over the area where the ferry now sits," said Bruce Hill, the group's northern campaign director.

An Enbridge spokesman said it was unfair to compare modern tankers with the Queen of the North, which was built in 1969 and had a single hull and compartment design that is considered less safe by modern shipbuilding standards.

"The safety record of these tankers is extremely high. Only those that are ocean certified with double hulls would be used at the (Kitimat) terminal," Glenn Herchak said.

Tankers must travel through several waterways including the 65-mile (105-km) Douglas Channel fjord to reach Kitimat, but Herchak said they would be escorted by tugboats.

The company, which is working with PetroChina Co. Ltd., on the project, plans for six or seven tankers take oil from Kitimat each month with four to six additional ships delivering condensate to be shipped back to Alberta.

Kitimat is also being considered as the site of a liquefied natural gas terminal and Kinder Morgan Inc's Terasen unit is looking at building its own condensate pipeline with a terminal in the community.

Oil is already a politically sensitive subject in the area. There is a moratorium on offshore oil and natural gas exploration in British Columbia, and restricted access for tankers carrying crude oil down the coast from Alaska.

Re uters

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Ferry cleanup too slow, natives say
MARK HUME
March 30, 2006

VANCOUVER — When the Queen of the North ran into Gil Island shortly after midnight one night last week, the people of Hartley Bay rushed to help, sending a flotilla of rescue boats out on a dark, rain-swept sea to pull in survivors.

Now they are wondering why the rest of the world has been so slow in coming to help them.

Chief Robert Hill said yesterday the oil-spill response seemed to take a long time to get going and when it did, crews didn't seem to have all the resources they needed.

"The response of this community was quick. How come they were so slow?" he asked, noting that diesel fuel had already fouled many beaches by the time cleanup crews arrived.

"I think this has been a huge wake-up call for everybody," he said. "People just weren't ready to respond to this.

"The horrific amount of fuel on our beaches is quite startling. You can go to a lot of beaches around here, wipe your hands on the rocks, and they just come back covered with fuel."

Mr. Hill said he was upset too that officials were slow to come to Hartley Bay to address the concerns of residents.

The people of Hartley Bay only received their first briefing on the cleanup effort yesterday, when government and industry representatives came for a meeting, one week after the accident that killed two passengers and left a massive wreck leaking fuel into the ocean near their village.

And while that meeting "filled in many of the information gaps," Mr. Hill said, it also left a feeling of unease among residents of the small, isolated native community which makes its living from the sea.

"I am very concerned," Mr. Hill said. "I mean, here we are in day seven or eight, and up until today we just hadn't been given very much information. . . . We had a feeling of abandonment."

He said both Premier Gordon Campbell and Environment Minister Barry Penner flew to the North Coast last week, following the accident, but neither stopped in at Hartley Bay, the town that could suffer the most from environmental damage.

"I know they had tight schedules, but you'd have thought they'd have found time to stop in at Hartley Bay," said Mr. Hill, who added that he hopes Mr. Campbell will come for a visit soon.

"I think it's imperative that he come here," he said.

Hartley Bay is tucked in behind Promise Island, about a 20-minute boat ride across Wright Sound from where the Queen of the North ripped out its bottom on the rocky shores of Gil Island.

The 8,000-gross-tonne, 125-metre vessel, which had an estimated 240,000 litres of fuel aboard, sank at enormous depth just off Gil Island. Early sonar images suggested the vessel had broken up, but an inspection by submarine found it in one piece, lying on its keel in a deep layer of silt.

It continues to leak fuel slowly and a sheen of diesel has now spread far from the area, Mr. Hill said.

"An effort is being made to contain the fuel, but we are told the best way to deal with it may be to let nature take its course. That's worrying," Mr. Hill said.

"We are a community that lives on the sea. We harvest by the seasons. Our next harvest is coming up soon. We get seaweed in the spring, and we are worried about how this will affect the plants. . . . It's not just that we harvest shellfish and salmon, but we are also in the process of developing ecotourism, kayaking, hut-to-hut touring."

Shortly after the accident, the government sent a cleanup team to the site.

The effort involves BC Ferries, Burrard Clean Operations, Environment Canada, the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and representatives from the Hartley Bay and Kitkatla Bands.

Officials have said the leak is slow and that 50 per cent of diesel fuel reaching the surface evaporates within 48 hours.

"The remaining compounds break down into minute hydrocarbons, which can be dangerous to wildlife depending on amount of contact. However, the hydrocarbon is eventually degraded by sunlight and bacteria -- breaking the molecules down into harmless components. How long it takes depends on weather and local environmental conditions," the B.C. Ministry of Environment said in a recent release.

The Globe and Mail

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Ferry bridge crew may not have known where they were
March 30, 2006

VANCOUVER -- More details this morning about the moments leading up to and the moments immediately following the Queen of the North striking a rock off Gil Island and sinking.

CKNW News has learned the ferry's bridge crew may have thought the ship was miles away from its actual location.

The revelation comes from details about the initial distress call from the ferry.

Hartley Bay resident, Isobel Eaton heard that call and tells CKNW, "He said that they ran aground by south end of Sainty Point and then after a while he said they were sinking, they needed help."

The key is the officer gave the ship's position as south of Sainty Point, miles from its actual location off Gil Island.

This could further fuel speculation the ship's autopilot malfunctioned, as well as prompting questions about how the crew could have been so wrong about the ferry's position.

CKNW AM980

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His training paid off as ferry began to sink
March 29, 2006

GEORGE KOZAK is thrilled to hear BC Ferries will no longer allow crew members to sleep below the water line of its vessels after a hole was torn in the side of his room when the Queen of the North ferry ran aground last week causing it to sink.

Water poured into the sleeping quarters of Kozak, a Terrace resident and an eight-year staff member with BC Ferries, shortly after midnight March 22 when the ferry rammed into jagged rocks on Gil Island.

"It just ripped it open," he said last week from his home in Terrace.

And for that reason, BC Ferries announced less than 72 hours after the ferry sunk that crew accommodations will be moved above the water line.

"When we did the evacuation and whatnot with the crew cabins being below the water line there was water coming into the crew accommodations," says BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall. "And we don't want that to ever happen again."

Kozak couldn't agree more.

"I think it's a smart move because the water was coming into my room," Kozak says. "I don't want to see that anymore."

Kozak was asleep when he felt the ferry hit ground.

"I felt the first touch and I figured we were making a landing, we were parking and figured 'oh, what a rough landing,' and then I felt the second hit and I knew something was wrong," he recalls.

"That's when the water started coming in the room."

Kozak says he didn't have time to feel afraid or scared, he just knew he had to get out of there and help passengers and crew members off the ferry.

"We're trained to do a job and we're trained to save people and the crew and I guess that's all that kicked into my head," he says. "Grab your pants, put them on, grab your shoes, don't worry about socks, grab your jacket and run...that's what I did and the rest was history."

Kozak was the chief cook on the run from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy but once the ferry started to go down he switched immediately into his passenger control role.

"Keeping them calm, cool and getting them ready for the rafts, making sure you have your head count and you don't lose anybody and keeping them calm and cool - that's what passenger control was all about," he says.

He was responsible for checking rooms in one portion of the boat and rounding up 24 passengers and making sure they got safely into a life boat.

He'll never forget the faces of those people, he says.

Passengers such as Terrace couple Ed and Barb Kenney have been praising the quick action and diligence displayed by the vessel's crew members.

"They were certainly banging on doors and saying 'everybody out,'" says Ed Kenney, a retired high school teacher.

"They were very efficient, very professional."

Crew members worked thoroughly rounding up the passengers, getting them into lifeboats and life rafts and off the ferry to safety, he says.

"They did at least four head counts that I remember them doing it in the life boat, they were asking if anybody was separated from somebody they were with as a buddy system check," says Kenney.

But Kozak says the passengers should also be recognized for how well they dealt with what was frightening situation.

"I was very proud of the way the passengers listened to me as I took charge doing passenger control," Kozak says.

"All I have to say is it was a rude awakening and we did our job."

Two other Terrace residents were also working on the Queen of the North.

Roxanne Wagner and Paul Scodane were back in Terrace last week after the incident - they both worked in the kitchen on the ferry.

Terrace Standard

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Some progress in getting replacement B.C. ferry
CTV.ca News Staff
April 1, 2006

There is some slow progress for the beleaguered communities on British Columbia's north coast waiting anxiously for a ferry to replace the sunken Queen of the North.

The Queen of Prince Rupert, an older, slower, and smaller ferry, came out of dry dock on Friday evening to head to the Vancouver docks owned by the ferry corporation.

The vessel will undergo another two weeks of final touches on its retrofit that started in the Esquimalt dry dock -- and if all goes according to plan, it will be back in service on April 15.

The ferry service is much needed by the people on the north coast of Vancouver Island and the mainland who are somewhat isolated without the ferry service, which was lost when the Queen of the North sank.

Even though the Queen of Prince Rupert is older, smaller, and slower, it's condidered a great step forward from the services which are being offered since the sinking -- nothing more than a tug and barge service.

Mayday call

Meanwhile, a number of investigations by a number of agencies are on-going into the sinking of the Queen of the North. And, bit by bit, the public is being given access into what investigators are looking at.

An audiotape recording of the mayday call made from the coast guard station is one of the latest pieces of information to be released.

The eerie sounding broadcast was made by the Coast Guard station in Prince Rupert, and was relayed to mariners and communities in the surrounding area.

"Mayday relay. Mayday relay. Mayday relay. This is Prince Rupert Coast Guard Radio at 0028 Pacific Standard Time," stated the message.

"This station received a report from the ferry, Queen of the North, reporting aground, and listing badly, taking on water, just south of Sainty Point in Granville Channel."

Investigation

In other developments, the RCMP and officials with B.C. Ferries insist that there is no criminal investigation into last week's sinking.

The statement comes after media reports that such an investigation was underway.

The RCMP issued a release on Friday saying they don't have all the information they need to start a criminal investigation.

"At this time, it is too early to determine if a criminal investigation is warranted," spokesman Staff Sgt. John Ward said in the release.

In an earlier report, Prince Rupert RCMP Sgt. Ken Burton said the probe would include potential criminal liability on the part of BC Ferries under Bill C-45 -- which holds organizations criminally liable for their actions.

"That's one of the perspectives'' he told The Vancouver Province newspaper Thursday.

"We are exploring all the circumstances surrounding this unfortunate event."

B.C. Ferries CEO David Hahn said the report was reckless.

"It's really unfortunate to go out there and say there's a criminal investigation coming down and its already in place and the RCMP has to waste a lot of their time and we have to waste some of our time clarifying," Hahn said at a news conference.

"It was reported in a very poor fashion. I think there's a need to seek facts. I think that's what the public wants, that's what they deserve. I think the family of the people that lost their lives actually deserve that."

Staff member recounts sinking

Meantime, a cook on the sinking ferry has told the Prince Rupert Daily News how he felt the icy cold water pouring into his sleeping quarters below deck, and he instantly started figuring out how to get everyone off the vessel.

"I felt the first touch and I figured we were making a landing, we were parking and figured 'oh, what a rough landing,' and then I felt the second hit and I knew something was wrong," George Kozak told the newspaper.

"We're trained to do a job and we're trained to save people and the crew and I guess that's all that kicked into my head," he said. "Grab your pants, put them on, grab your shoes, don't worry about socks, grab your jacket and run."

Passengers presumed dead

Two passengers -- Gerald Foisey and Shirley Rosette -- are missing and presumed dead after the 125-metre ferry veered off course and crashed into rocks about 75 kilometres southwest of Prince Rupert, B.C.

The ship went down in 427 metres of water around 1:30 a.m. on March 22 -- an hour after tearing its bottom out on the rocks of Gil Island.

A television report earlier this week quoted sources as saying the Queen of the North was on auto-pilot when it veered off course.

A total of 99 passengers and crew were rescued with the help of residents from the nearby aboriginal village of Hartley Bay.

With reports from CTV Vancouver and The Canadian Press

CTV

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Restoration of ferry service to the north gets closer
April 3 2006

VANCOUVER -- For the first time since the Queen of the North went down, ferry service is one step closer to being restored between Vancouver Island, Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlotte Islands, however the future of the environmental clean up resulting from the sinking is a little less clear.

BC Ferries still says April 15th is the tentative date for the first sailing of the Queen of Prince Rupert from Port Hardy up to Prince Rupert, with the first voyage to the Queen Charlottes leaving the next day.

On the environmental side of things, BC Ferries is continuing to evaluate the underwater footage of the sunken Queen of the North.

The company is working with a salvage firm to determine the best way to deal with the remaining diesel in the ship, a decision will be made to either try and pump the fuel out or somehow seal off the tanks, locking what's left inside the ferry.

Local residents around Wright Sound are still concerned about the long term damage from the fuel, much of which has already leaked into the water.

AM980 CKNW

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North Coast ferry route won't offer cabin service
April 4, 2006

Victoria -- B.C. Ferries is still aiming to have its ferry service restored on the North Coast on April 15 -- but, it says, no cabin service will be available.

The company said the Queen of Prince Rupert should be ready to sail from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert on April 15, carrying both passengers and vehicles.

Service to Skidegate is expected to resume on April 16.

The Queen of Prince Rupert was in dry dock when the Queen of the North sank on March 22.

Ninety-nine passengers and crew survived the sinking, but two passengers are missing and presumed dead.

B.C. Ferries has been using a tug and barge service on the North Coast to move goods and vehicles in the absence of ferry service, while passengers who had reservations on the Queen of the North are being flown to their destinations.

Globe and Mail / CP

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Leakage from sunken ferry causing minimal damage, says cleanup boss
April 10, 2006

The diesel fuel leak from the Queen of the North – which sank off B.C.'s North Coast last month – has not caused any major environmental damage, say officials in charge of the cleanup.

The Prince Rupert Incident Command centre says there are still two slicks near Hartley Bay, where the Queen of the North went down after running onto rocks and then sinking in more than 400 metres of water...

For the full story see: CBC News

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Salvage firms in BC Ferries talks
April 11, 2006

BC FERRIES is negotiating with two European salvage firms to have 194 tonnes of diesel fuel and 20 tonnes of lubrication oil pumped from the ferry Queen of the North, which sank in 400m of water off the Queen Charlotte Islands on 22 March after hitting a rock. Spokesman Deborah Marshall confirmed that BC Ferries is considering SvitzerWijsmuller Salvage and Smit Salvage to offload the fuel. While both would be capable of bringing the ship to the surface, there has been no indication from the ferry corporation that it will attempt to do so. While diesel fuel is said to be leaking from the vessel, reports from the emergency command centre indicate that the amount of leakage is minimal and there has been no serious environmental damage. Marshall said the BC Ferries is hoping to have a replacement ferry, the recently-refitted Queen of Prince Rupert, operating on the Prince Rupert-Port Hardy route on 14 April. Two passengers went missing when the Queen of the North accident occurred and are now presumed dead.

Fairplay

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B.C. Ferry facing suit by victim's daughters
EVA SALINAS
May 13, 2006

VANCOUVER -- Gerald Foisy's two teenaged daughters are entitled to know "what on earth happened" the night their father was presumed drowned in the sinking of the Queen of the North, a lawyer for the girls says.

A lawsuit on behalf of the teens was filed in B.C. Supreme Court this week against B.C. Ferry Services Inc.

The suit says Brittni Lee Foisy, 15, and Morgan Taylor Foisy, 12, have lost support, guidance, care and companionship, inheritance, dependency and services as a result of the negligence of the company.

Mr. Foisy, 46, and his partner, Shirley Rosette, 42, of 100 Mile House, are believed to be the only people who died when the ferry carrying 101 crew and passengers sank on the night of March 22. Ninety-nine people made it into lifeboats and eventually to shore.

"These are two young teenage girls who have lost their father, which is obviously very difficult and . . . their father was contributing to them and they are just pursuing those contributions through this lawsuit," said lawyer Peter Ritchie, who added the girls are entitled to find out "what on earth happened."

The suit alleges failure to reduce speed, properly use visual sighting, call for assistance, provide adequate training and supervision, implement proper evacuation procedures and keep an accurate and complete passenger record.

The claim, the second suit to be filed since the ferry sank, is for unspecified damages, legal costs and "such further and other relief as to this Honourable Court may seem just."

The first lawsuit against B.C. Ferry Services came within a week of the incident from a couple whose possessions went down with the ship near Hartley's Bay. Alexander and Maria Kotai lost all their clothing, family photos and heirlooms, and have asked for compensation for the items, as well as for pain and suffering. Their lawyer is attempting to have the case certified as a class action.

B.C. Ferry Services said yesterday it had not been served with either lawsuit and could not comment.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has not yet released results of its investigation of the incident. Mr. Ritchie said that report might have a bearing on the court's decision on his clients' case.

The Globe and Mail

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Workers suspended over investigation into B.C. ferry's sinking
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 5, 2006

VICTORIA, B.C. -- B.C. Ferries will suspend and possibly fire a handful of crew who were working on the Queen of the North the night it sank off the coast of British Columbia because they have refused to participate in an investigation, the company said.

Fewer than four people have refused to answer questions for the company investigation, said CEO David Hahn.

He refused to say whether these crew members are critical to the investigation or include the two who were in the wheelhouse at the time of the crash.

Jackie Miller, president of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union, said 10 to 12 crew members who were on the ferry that night have been assigned legal counsel and advised not to speak to B.C. Ferries.

Two passengers are missing and presumed drowned in the loss of the 409-foot vessel, which went off course March 22 and hit rocks off Gil Island, then sank to the bottom of Wright Sound south of Prince Rupert. The other 99 passengers and crew were rescued with the help of residents in the nearby Hartley Bay.

Miller said that if any union members are fired, the union will take action.

"I can tell you that right now," she said. "We don't like threats and these people have been through enough."

Several crew on the lost ferry remain in psychiatric care and on leave, Miller said.

The Transportation Safety Board, Transport Canada, B.C. Ferries and the RCMP are investigating the incident.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer / AP

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Ferry's crew unsure of steering
Transportation Safety Board letter cites refit of equipment aboard ill-fated ship
ROD MICKLEBURGH
June 6, 2006

VANCOUVER -- Some crew members on the bridge of the ill-fated Queen of the North were unfamiliar with a new steering mechanism recently installed on board, the Transportation Safety Board has found.

In a letter sent in May to B.C. Ferries president David Hahn, the TSB pinpointed several difficulties the crew had with a switch to select different steering functions such as auto pilot or manual operation on the large passenger ferry.

The Queen of the North went down in the early hours of March 22 after striking Gil Island at a high rate of speed as it travelled through narrow channels south of Prince Rupert known as the Inside Passage.

Although 99 passengers and crew managed to escape the stricken ferry, two people were trapped inside and died as the ship sank in 430 metres of water.

The letter is the first to offer any possible clues as to why the ferry may have gone so far off course without alerting anyone on the bridge in time to prevent it from striking the rocky island.

However, B.C. Ferries president David Hahn stressed that it is far too early to speculate whether the crew's lack of training on the new equipment was a major factor in the sinking, the first in the ferry fleet's long history.

"I think one has to be a little careful," Mr. Hahn said in an interview late yesterday.

He said crew members were interviewed shortly after the sinking. "Was this an emotional response by them? I don't know.

"I'm convinced some of them [the crew] said that, but these guys are experienced mariners. . . . Would you take on the risk [of piloting that ferry] without being fully comfortable with the equipment?"

But Mr. Hahn acknowledged, "We have to wait for the final report from the Transport Safety Board, but they are clearly telling us this may have been a factor."

He said the ferry fleet has responded to the letter by requiring ship officers to sign documents attesting that they are fully acquainted with how to operate any modified or newly installed equipment.

According to the May 11 letter from Marcel Ayeko, acting director of investigations for the federal safety board's marine division, the Queen of the North had completed a refit in early March.

The refit included the installation of a new steering-mode selector switch.

"Not all crew members appear to have been adequately briefed," the letter said.

Specifically, according to the letter, members of the bridge team had different understandings of how the switch worked and what function each setting of the switch performed, including auto pilot and jog (manual) steering.

As well, some bridge team members were not aware of the various night-time settings to reduce the glare of the ship's electronic chart system.

As a result, at night, the ECS was left on but the monitor turned off "to reduce to ambient light within the wheelhouse," the letter said.

Mr. Ayeko stopped short of suggesting these were factors in the ship's sinking, but warned Mr. Hahn, "It is essential that crew members be thoroughly prepared in advance so that they are able to operate the vessel safely from the outset."

The transport board's letter recalls comments by B.C. Ferries then-director of safety, Captain Darin Bowland, one week before the Queen of the North accident.

Capt. Bowland told a meeting that he was increasingly concerned about the complexity of new equipment aboard ships.

He cited "the immense complexity of today's bridge equipment and concerns some officers have that training standards have by no means kept up with the rapid change that is occurring."

Capt. Bowland subsequently resigned his position.

The TSB letter said the practice with new equipment is for those crew members who have received training to pass it on to other crew.

But it questioned whether this is a sufficient safeguard.

The Globe and Mail

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Ferry management gets blame
Bosses responsible for lack of training, senior accident investigator says
ROD MICKLEBURGH
With a report from Canadian Press
June 7, 2006

VANCOUVER -- It is the responsibility of management to ensure crew and officers on board ships are familiar with new equipment, a senior investigator looking into the sinking of the Queen of the North said yesterday.

Eric Asselin of the Transportation Safety Board was elaborating on a letter sent by the TSB to B.C. Ferries last month, informing corporation president David Hahn that not all crew on the bridge knew how to operate recently installed steering and navigation systems on board the passenger ferry.

"One thing for sure: B.C. Ferries does have a training officer," Mr. Asselin said in an interview with CBC Radio.

"One would expect that person . . . to ensure that those people -- the crew members or officers -- are fully knowledgeable in using these two pieces of equipment."

He added, "There was a lack of training, and we are saying that training should be part and parcel of management [responsibility]."

The Queen of the North slammed into Gil Island in the middle of the night of March 22 as it went drastically off course travelling through the narrow channels of the Inside Passage south of Prince Rupert.

The large ship quickly sank, killing two passengers. The remaining 99 passengers and crew made it to land in the vessel's lifeboats.

The TSB letter to Mr. Hahn said some crew on the bridge were not sure how to operate new equipment that controlled the autopilot on board.

As well, some did not know of an added software feature allowing crew to dim the screen glare of the ferry's electronic charting system.

To avoid the glare, the ECS -- a key night-time navigational aid -- was sporadically turned off by crew members unaware that the screen brightness could be adjusted.

"The personnel in charge of navigation that night didn't know how to use that feature effectively," Mr. Asselin said, "and they had to shut down that screen to avoid all that glare on the bridge."

The Queen of the North had completed a refit about three weeks before its final voyage.

"Not all crew members appear to have been adequately briefed," the TSB letter to Mr. Hahn said.

The letter, known as a marine safety advisory, suggested the ferry fleet should take steps to ensure all officers and crew are trained on new or modified equipment so they can "safely carry out their duties."

TSB spokesman John Cottreau stressed the board is a long way from completing its report on the ferry sinking.

"[But] our investigators turned up a safety deficiency . . . and we are telling B.C. Ferries about what we uncovered," he said.

"We don't wait for the final report if something needs to be done. We haven't drawn any conclusions, but we've seen this thing, and it's starting to quack like a duck."

Mr. Cottreau stressed the lack of training was not "a root cause" of the tragedy. "It could be a contributing factor, but there's never just one factor in an accident."

He said TSB investigators are focusing on all aspects of the bridge operation aboard the Queen of the North, including the status of the autopilot, when it collided at high speed with the rocky island.

"It seems that some of the knobs and some of the commands within the autopilot were not fully appreciated by the officer of the watch or the bridge crew," Mr. Asselin told CBC.

Since receiving the safety board's warning, B.C. Ferries has required all officers to sign a document attesting that they are "fully acquainted" with any new equipment on their ships.

Mr. Hahn, meanwhile, has questioned the significance of the crew's alleged lack of training, arguing that, as experienced mariners, they should not have been on the bridge if they did not feel qualified to operate unfamiliar equipment.

"I would argue very strongly they should have stood up and said, 'I can't sail the ship,' " said Mr. Hahn. "Would you take a 25-foot power board out in the middle of Howe Sound if you didn't know how to operate a power boat?"

The ferry boss and workers' union are at odds over the company's internal investigation of the sinking.

The union is supporting several members who are refusing to co-operate with the investigation, although they have talked to representatives of the federal safety board.

Mr. Hahn has threatened recalcitrant union members with discipline if they maintain their refusal to answer questions.

The union is expected to respond to the escalating tension and new revelations about the loss of the vessel at a news conference this morning.

The Globe and Mail

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B.C. Ferries receives $67.9M on sunken ferry insurance claim
June 12, 2006

BC Ferries received $67.9 million in insurance compensation for the sinking of the Queen of the North earlier this year, the corporation said Monday.

The settlement was noted in the company’s year-end financial details, in which net earnings increased $14.7 million, or 2.6 per cent, over last year to $49.9 million.

The company said $6.6 million of the proceeds from the insurance settlement offset insurable losses, and the balance will be recognized in the first quarter of its 2007 fiscal year.

"It is important to note that all of our earnings are invested back into our terminal and vessel construction programs," said BC Ferries president David Hahn. "Over the next five years, we will invest $200 million in our terminals and add eight new vessels at a cost of $1 billion to ensure the continued safety and reliability of our fleet."

The Queen of the North was travelling from Prince Rupert, B.C., to Port Hardy, B.C., when it rammed at full speed into Gil Island on March 22 and sank 400 metres to the ocean’s floor. There were 101 people on board. Gerald Foisy, 46, and his companion Shirley Rosette, 42, died.

Foisy’s adolescent daughters have since launched a lawsuit against BC Ferries. No figures are cited, but 15-year-old Brittni Lee and 12-year-old Morgan Taylor are seeking damages, the cost of bringing the suit and whatever other relief the court considers appropriate.

Alexander and Maria Kotai are also asking BC Ferries to compensate them for their physical losses as well as for pain and suffering. The Kotais said in a lawsuit that they lost all their clothing, family photos and heirlooms when the ferry sank. They were moving from Kitimat, B.C. to Nanaimo, B.C.

The Transportation Safety Board sent a letter to BC Ferries on May 11 advising the crew was not familiar with new or modified equipment installed on the Queen of the North during a refit just weeks prior. Of special concern was new steering equipment, including the gear for autopilot.

The safety board, Transport Canada, and the RCMP are conducting investigations into the sinking. BC Ferries is conducting two investigations.

CanWest News Service

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