After a two-year investigation, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada concluded that the B.C. ferry Queen of the North, en route from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy,crashed full-speed into Gil Island
After a two-year investigation, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada concluded that the B.C. ferry Queen of the North, en route from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy, crashed full-speed into Gil Island at 12:21 a.m. on March 22, 2006.The crash was due to human error caused by various distractions on the bridge in the crucial minutes before the grounding, combined with a spotty company safety system.
The vessel sustained extensive damage to its hull, lost its propulsion and drifted for about one hour and 17 minutes before it sank in 430 metres of water.
Fifty-nine passengers and 42 crew members were aboard; 99 were rescued and two were never found. The survivors abandoned ship into three life rafts, two lifeboats and one rescue boat before it sank.
On March 12, 2008, the TSB released its 79-page report stating that the fourth officer (4/0) did not order the required course change at the Sainty Point waypoint and sailed into Wright Sound on a collision course with the island.
For the 14 minutes after the missed course change, the 4/0 did not adhere to sound watchkeeping practices and failed to detect the vessels improper course, the report said among its findings as to causes and contributing factors.
When the 4/0 became aware that the vessel was off course, the action taken was too little too late to prevent the vessel from striking Gil Island.
The TSB report also found that the navigation equipment was not set up to take full advantage of the available safety features and was therefore ineffective in providing a warning of the developing dangerous situation.
The report found that the bridge watch lacked an appropriately certified third person, which reduced the ferrys defences and made it more likely the missed course change would go undetected.
The working environment on the bridge of the Queen of the North was less than formal, and the accepted principles of navigation safety were not consistently or rigorously applied, said the report. Unsafe navigation practices persisted which, in this occurrence, contributed to the loss of situational awareness by the bridge team.
An earlier B.C. Ferries report and addendum, released in March and October 2007, found human error and not mechanical fault sank the ferry.
Source:shiptalk