# Queen of the North Update



## Keltic Star (Jan 21, 2006)

_From: The Globe and Mail March 21, 2007_

“You could hear her hitting rocks on the way, shuddering 

and twitching, like she was in her death throes. Then, 

complete silence. It was so quiet, you could hear the rain 

dropping.”

The 63-year-old shipping executive, not realizing at the 

time that two passengers had gone down with the ship, 

led the stunned, chilled survivors in as lusty a 

three-cheers as they could manage for the first vessel in 

the history of the publicly owned B.C. Ferries fleet to be 

lost at sea.

But there have been few, if any, cheers over the sinking 

since.

One year later, the cause of the mishap remains a 

mystery, union and company relations have been 

poisoned by the event, and families of the two victims are 

still searching for answers, denied even the minimal 

comfort of a death certificate.

The Queen of the North sank about one hour after 

running full tilt into rocky Gil Island, 150 kilometres 

south of Prince Rupert, where it had left for an overnight 

passage to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. The 

gruesome collision ripped open the ship's hull, forcing 99 

crew and passengers to abandon ship in the middle of the 

night.

Even as those on board and their heroic rescuers from 

the nearby native community of Hartley Bay recall the 

harrowing events of a year ago, however, the central 

question remains publicly unanswered.

How could the Queen of the North have strayed so far 

off course without anyone in charge of navigating and 

steering the ship noticing?

A report from B.C. Ferries' own inquiry into the mishap 

is expected to solve large parts of the mystery when it is 

released Friday, or Monday at the latest.

But company investigators were hampered by the refusal 

of two key union crew members to answer questions.

On the bridge at the time were helmswoman Karen 

Bricker and navigator Karl Lilgert. Below deck, having a 

meal break, was Second Officer Keven Hilton.

Contrary to many media reports, Ms. Bricker has 

co-operated to some extent with the inquiry, and 

continues to be paid, although she remains off work.

But Mr. Lilgert and Mr. Hilton have remained silent, 

their lawyer citing concern over potential civil and 

criminal liability.

Both men have been suspended without pay.

Previous media reports have suggested the ship may 

have been on autopilot when it ran into Gil Island, 

without a crucial course correction having been made to 

swing the vessel safely into mid-channel.

An early finding by the Transportation Safety Board also 

revealed that the monitor on the ship's new electronic 

chart system had been turned off because crew members 

did not know how to reduce its glare.

The RCMP's major-crimes unit is continuing to 

investigate the sinking, with up to six officers assigned to 

determine whether criminal negligence was a factor.

As they prepare for an emotional anniversary memorial 

on the windswept, uninhabited island, relatives of the two 

missing passengers are renewing their pleas for 

tight-lipped crew members to tell what happened.

“We wish they would come forward and tell the truth. 

That's all we ask,” said Dwight Melnyk, brother-in-law 

of Gerald Foisy, who has not been seen since the sinking.

“We want to know what happened on the bridge that 

night and why. It would be closure for everybody, 

particularly Gerald's two young daughters.”

Exacerbating the families' anguish is the fact that Mr. 

Foisy, 46, and his 42-year-old fiancée Shirley Rosette, 

also missing, have yet to be declared dead, meaning their 

four children cannot collect survivor benefits.

Saturday's private memorial for the families is being 

organized by residents of Hartley Bay, the same folks 

who dashed out into the night on a rescue mission mere 

moments after the ferry's “mayday” crackled over the 

air.


----------



## JoK (Nov 12, 2006)

I am most interested in what TSB is going to release for findings. That should be, oh, another year.....


----------



## mclean (Jul 30, 2005)

BC Ferries will release their findings on tuesday, which are expected to be pretty blunt.


----------



## Keltic Star (Jan 21, 2006)

*B.C. ferry sailed straight to its doom*

PATRICK BRETHOUR 
Globe and Mail Update
VANCOUVER — The Queen of the North steamed at full speed into the rocky shore of Gil Island — without any alteration in course – on the night it sank, as the crew on the deck failed to maintain a proper lookout, says the BC Ferries report into the disaster believed to have claimed the lives of two passengers.
And, music was “clearly audible” during two routine radio telephone conversations between the ship's crew and the Marine Communications and Traffic Services Centre in Prince Rupert, the report says, pointing to that fact as evidence of “casual watchstanding behaviour.”
The report rules out any propulsion, mechanical or control defect on the Queen of the North in the hours before it sank in the early morning of March 22. 
Although the report does not specifically assign blame to human error, it does catalogue several instances of mistakes by the crew, including:
• a failure by the bridge crew to follow procedures posted by the senior master for operating steering controls.
• a failure to make the necessary alteration in course to navigate around Gil Island
• a loss of “situation awareness” and failing to appreciate the vessels “impending peril” before it struck the island's shore
• neglecting to maintain “proper lookout” for preventing collisions
• a practice of “casual watchstanding behaviour” that existed the night of the collision, and on other trips of the Queen of the North

Full report at:

http://www.bcferries.com/files/AboutBCF/815-06-01_DI_QON_Grounding.pdf

*Bear in mind that this report was carried out by the owners and as such has no official or legal standing. The NTS report, due out sometime in the future will identify causes and recommended changes to be implemented for future safety, it will not assign blame. 
The subsequent R.C.M.P. report will be the one that finally decides whether any criminal charges are to be laid.*


----------

