ON THE ROCKS: A B.C. FERRY SINKS YV Introduction On March 22, 2006, Queen of the North rock, and sank. Although the official Focus was sailing from Prince Rupert to Port report on the accident will take months On March 22, 2006, Hardy, along British Columbia’s Inside to complete, rumours about safety a massive British Passage. It was a huge passenger ferry, problems with B.C. Ferries began to Columbia passen- ger ferry called capable of transporting 700 passengers circulate quickly. B.C. Ferries is the Queen of the North and over 100 cars. Shortly after mid- company that operates ferry service for sank off the north- night, the ferry veered more than a the province. B.C. Ferries’ president, ern coast of B.C. kilometre off course. It struck a rock at David Hahn, has said he is anxious to Remarkably, 99 of Gil Island and sank. Fortunately, the learn why the vessel veered off course the 101 passengers and crew survived crew of Queen of the North was able to when it was equipped with the latest in the accident. This evacuate almost all of the passengers electronic navigational equipment. As high survival rate is before the boat sank. Most of the pas- well, it remains to be seen why the crew largely due to the sengers were rescued from their life- did not seek help after the ship left its extraordinary boats and taken to shore in the fishing course, and whether or not alarms on efforts of the boats of residents of Hartley Bay. Two the ship were working properly. But residents of Hartley Bay, a small First passengers, Shirley Rosette and her others point out that it was the design of Nations settlement husband Gerald Foisey, were never the ship itself that made it vulnerable to on the British located and are presumed drowned. sinking so quickly. Columbia coast. Ferries are the lifeblood of the B.C. Despite the loss of life and concerns The accident raised coast. Many of the coastal communities about the safety of the B.C. Ferries’ concerns about the safety standards of are isolated and can only be accessed by fleet, an event that could have been a B.C. Ferries air or water. Ferries transport goods and complete tragedy did not occur because (www.bcferries.ca), supplies and family and friends between of the fast action of the residents of the company that the communities. But the waters are Hartley Bay. Governor General controls ferry treacherous. The coastline stretches Michaëlle Jean recognized the efforts of operations in the province. erratically and is dotted by small, rocky the community and awarded the Gover- islands. Accidents do occur. nor General’s Commendation for A full investigation was launched by Outstanding Service to the residents. YV the Transportation Safety Board of On a bittersweet note, it has been sug- Sections Canada (TSB) to determine why Queen gested that Queen of the North’s replace- marked with this symbol indicate of the North veered off course, hit a ment be named Spirit of Hartley Bay. content suitable for younger viewers. Analysis 1. What happened to the ferry Queen of the North on March 22, 2006?
2. What questions are being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada?
3. When you travel in a boat, do you take special precautions? How well aware are you of emergency procedures?
CBC News in Review • May 2006 • Page 20 ON THE ROCKS: A B.C. FERRY SINKS YV Video Review
1. Why is the sinking of Queen of the North seen as a “remarkable story of Complete all survival” rather than a tragedy? questions while reviewing the video.
2. What role did the residents of Hartley Bay play on the night of the acci- Did you know . . . dent? The Canadian Coast Guard provides training and jobs for Canadians interested in ma- rine service. Visit 3. How far away was the nearest Coast Guard vessel at the time of the acci- the Web site at dent? ______www.cgc.gc.ca/ CGC.php?l=e&m= 4. How many passengers were missing after the vessel sank? ______7&p=105 and check 5. How long did it take to determine that passengers were missing? out what qualifica- tions are required for the training 6. Why did it take so long? programs. Also explore the site to see the type of work the Coast 7. How far off course was the ship when it ran aground? ______Guard conducts. Would this be a job 8. What features were in place on the bridge to prevent such an occurrence? for you?
9. What safety concerns have been raised about Queen of the North and B.C. Ferries?
10. What environmental impacts have occurred because of the sinking?
11. Who is most affected by these environmental impacts, and what can be done to help?
CBC News in Review • May 2006 • Page 21 ON THE ROCKS: A B.C. FERRY SINKS YV B.C. Ferry Service
The company that operates ferry service they have only a single-compartment Definition for the British Columbia coast is the hull, rather than a safer multiple-com- A Crown corpora- B.C. Ferry Service (also known as B.C. partment hull. When a ship has a single- tion is a business owned by a provin- Ferries). In 1960, B.C. Ferries was compartment hull it is vulnerable to cial or the federal established as a provincial Crown rapid sinking. That is exactly what government in corporation. This means that ferry happened to Queen of the North. It took Canada. service in British Columbia was fi- less than an hour for the ferry to sink nanced and managed by the provincial after it struck a rock and began to take government. In 2003, the province gave water. up control of B.C. Ferries, and it be- The following accidents have also came an independent, commercial involved B.C. Ferries: company. Today, B.C. Ferries is one of June 30, 2005 Queen of Oak Bay the largest ferry transportation systems lost power as it entered the Horseshoe in the world. It has a fleet of 35 vessels Bay terminal in West Vancouver and and 48 destinations along the coast of slammed into a nearby marina. Twenty- British Columbia. two boats were crushed, but no one was Ferries have always played an impor- injured. tant role in British Columbia. After all, the capital of British Columbia— September 14, 2000 Spirit of Victoria—is situated on the southern tip Vancouver Island collided with a 10- of Vancouver Island, about 100 metre powerboat outside the Swartz kilometres south of Vancouver, and Bay ferry terminal near Victoria. Two Canadians have always had to sail back people on the powerboat were killed. and forth between the island and the mainland. In addition, British February 6, 2000 Queen of Saanich Columbia’s deeply indented coastline collided with a high-speed catamaran stretches some 7 000 kilometres. Many passenger ferry called The Royal of the communities along this coastline Vancouver. The accident occurred in are small and isolated, and ferries Active Pass, during an early morning provide an important link between the fog. Over 20 passengers on the catama- communities. Ferries maintain a con- ran were injured. An inquiry blamed the stant flow of goods and services be- catamaran for not tracking B.C. Ferries’ tween communities, transport family Queen of Saanich on radar. and friends, and attract tourists to the November 7, 1995 Mayne Queen B.C. coast. crashed into a private marina on Bowen B.C. Ferries estimates that it will Island, near Vancouver. Several boats have to spend $2-billion over the next in the marina were damaged, but there 15 years to upgrade and modernize the were no injuries. Investigators could not aging ferry fleet and to ensure that determine whether mechanical or terminals keep pace with traffic de- human error caused the crash. mands. One of the problems with a number of the large ferries that navigate August 13, 1992 Two people were the waters of British Columbia is that killed at the Departure Bay terminal, in
CBC News in Review • May 2006 • Page 22 Nanaimo, when Queen of New nese coal freighter Shinwa Maru. Westminster moved away from the Seventeen ferry passengers were in- terminal just as a van drove across the jured. ramp leading to the ship’s upper deck. August 1985 Queen of Cowichan March 12, 1992 Shortly after leav- collided with a pleasure boat near the ing the Tsawwassen ferry terminal Horseshoe Bay terminal in West south of Vancouver, a B.C. Ferries Vancouver. Three people on the plea- vessel was in a collision with the Japa- sure boat were killed. Analysis 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a transportation service such as B.C. Ferries being run by a private, for-profit company rather than as a Crown corporation? Complete the organizer below.
Advantages Disadvantages
2. What is a “good” safety record? When you consider the number of years B.C. Ferries has been in operation, and the accidents that have occurred, do you think the company has a good safety record? What other informa- tion would help you in determining this assessment?
CBC News in Review • May 2006 • Page 23 ON THE ROCKS: A B.C. FERRY SINKS YV The Sinking of Queen of the North
Queen of the North was a massive ferry. • The passengers were ushered into life Weighing 9 000 tonnes, the ferry could rafts and were quickly lowered to the hold up to 700 people and 115 cars. It choppy waters below. was one of the biggest boats to serve • Within half an hour the first fishing the coastal communities along British boats arrived from the nearby village Columbia’s Inside Passage. On the of Hartley Bay. The fishing boats night of March 22, 2006, Queen of the began transporting passengers from North was on an overnight run from the life rafts to the community centre Prince Rupert to Port Hardy when a at Hartley Bay. terrible accident occurred. • Around 1:00 a.m. Queen of the North • Many passengers were sleeping when, sank. shortly after midnight, the ship ran onto rocks at Gil Island and began to • The Coast Guard vessel Wilfrid take water. Almost immediately the Laurier arrived at about 2:15 a.m. crew were knocking on cabin doors • Ninety-nine of the 101 passengers and and instructing passengers to vacate crew on board survived. their rooms.
Activity Read the following quotations (The Globe and Mail, March 23, 2006) describing the sinking of Queen of the North. Consider the images created by these quota- tions and the other material in this News in Review guide. With a partner, write a short television or radio transcript describing the sights and sounds of the accident.
“She said she could see land going by. Just after that she heard this ‘crunch- crunch-crunch’ and then right after that another ‘crunch-crunch-crunch’ ripping the hull open . . . she said right away there was water so she just got the hell out of there.” — Danny Danes, manager of the salmon hatchery at Hartley Bay
“[The pounding on] doors and alarms were so loud that it was impossible for anyone to have slept through the commotion. It was quiet and then there was a jolt and a big crunch. We heard a lot of hollering.” — Betty Allison, Queen of the North passenger
“I just see the [ferry] boat floating there and all the lights are on. All the life rafts are all tied up together, drifting away. Then it started sinking and it just kept going. . . . You could just hear all the cars in the car port crashing down on each other. When it went straight up and down you could hear every one just hit. It was loud.” — Karl Fisher, 16-year-old resident of Hartley Bay
“It sounded like a freight train going by. And then in seconds it was gone.” — Marven Robinson, one of the first to reach the life rafts
CBC News in Review • May 2006 • Page 24 ON THE ROCKS: A B.C. FERRY SINKS YV Hartley Bay
The small First Nations community of intimately. They responded quickly and Did you know . . . Hartley Bay (www.tricorp.ca/pages/ were able to reach the accident site well Past recipients of villpgs/hartley.html ) was thrust into the before the Canadian Coast Guard. the Governor General’s Commen- spotlight following the sinking of The villagers shuttled 64 people from dation for Out- Queen of the North. This community of the lifeboats to shore. In Hartley Bay, standing Service 200 people sprang into action as soon as residents had converted the community include firefighters it heard that a ferry had run aground. centre into an emergency shelter, pro- battling the fires in Hartley Bay is located at the mouth of viding the survivors with dry clothes, B.C.’s Southern Douglas Channel, about 630 kilometres blankets, hot coffee, and food. Basic Interior in the summer of 2003. It north of Vancouver and 145 kilometers first aid was also provided to the was also awarded south of Prince Rupert. It is an isolated stunned and shocked passengers. Cry- to members of the village accessible only by air and water. ing children were comforted and dis- Ukrainian Canadian It is home to the Gitga’at (sometimes tracted. Congress for organ- Gitga’ata), which means “People of the The actions of the Hartley Bay resi- izing a 500-person election observa- Cane.” The Gitga’at are members of the dents were extraordinary. Literally tion mission in the Tsimshian Nation. About 200 band every member of the community was Ukrainian presiden- members live at Hartley Bay, and about involved in the rescue efforts in some tial election on 500 members live off reserve in Prince way—even children and frail elders. December 26, 2004. Rupert, Vancouver, or other regions. These efforts were formally recognized For most of the 20th century, the by the Governor General on May 3, fishing industry sustained the people of 2006. The entire community was Hartley Bay. Today, employment has awarded the Governor General’s Com- diversified, with tourism playing a mendation for Outstanding Service. In significant role in the local economy. A making the award, Governor General number of Hartley Bay residents, for Michaëlle Jean said: “On behalf of the example, work at nearby fishing lodges people of Canada, I sincerely thank the as guides during the summer. residents of Hartley Bay who, without The quiet life experienced by Hartley knowing what to expect, pulled together Bay residents was shattered the night of and did all they could have done to March 22, 2006, when Queen of the rescue and care for the people on board North sank in waters nearby. Because Queen of the North. These types of residents of Hartley Bay have made actions have the power to change the their living from fishing the waters of course of a life” (www.gg.ca/media/ British Columbia’s Inside Passage for doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4743). generations, they know the waters
CBC News in Review • May 2006 • Page 25 Analysis Work with a partner or small group to investigate the following issues.
1. Hartley Bay resident Mona Danes described the Hartley Bay community in the accompanying video the following way: “We always say: ‘One heart.’ Just everybody just comes together and has the one heart to think of the other people, because one day, one day it will happen to us too.”
Why might people living in isolated communities be likely to take action to help others in trouble? Would residents of Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver act in a similar manner if a vessel sank in the waters offshore of the city? In your opinion who would be most likely to respond in large communities? Explain fully.
2. The Governor General’s Commendation for Outstanding Service honours the exceptional contribution of individuals or groups to their community. This type of commendation is presented very rarely. Write a short state- ment that summarizes why the actions of the Hartley Bay community were deserving of such an award.
3. To commemorate the community’s extraordinary efforts, the B.C. govern- ment has suggested that Queen of the North’s replacement should be named Spirit of Hartley Bay. Would you be in favour of this? Explain fully.
CBC News in Review • May 2006 • Page 26 ON THE ROCKS: A B.C. FERRY SINKS The Investigation
The Transportation Safety Board of North had gotten more than a kilometre Further Research Canada is responsible for investigating off course in the well-travelled channel. The Transportation accidents like the sinking of Queen of Hahn pointed out that the vessel was Safety Board of the North. Even though such investiga- outfitted with a number of different Canada (TSB) is an tions take months to complete, rumours radars, global positioning systems, and independent agency that investi- started circulating shortly after the electronic charting systems. Hahn said gates marine, sinking that safety concerns had been that the investigation would determine pipeline, railway, raised about Queen of the North and whether or not the equipment was work- and aviation trans- similar vessels of B.C. Ferries. ing properly at the time, and how the crew portation occur- For example, in 1998, a report was responded to the information that the ship rences. Its sole aim discussed at a B.C. Ferries board meet- was off course. is the advancement ing that warned a collision could sink Lewis Glentworth retired from B.C. of transportation the ferry very quickly. The company Ferries in September 2005 after sailing safety. Its role is not to assign blame that produced the report recommended for 30 years in the waters where Queen or criminal or civil that buoyancy chambers be added to of the North sank. He shared his opin- liability. Visit the Queen of the North and similar vessels. ion that human error must have caused TSB Web site at They were not. the vessel to crash into Gil Island at full www.tsb.gc.ca to Then in a March 14, 2006, meeting speed. He said the crew would not have get the latest with the Nautical Institute, B.C. Ferries’ just struggled with an autopilot problem results from the safety director, Captain Darin Bowland, if they knew the ship was off course. Queen of the North gave a speech in which he acknowl- “You don’t do that. You stop the ship. investigation. edged that some officers were con- You yell for help. You get the old man cerned that training had not kept pace (captain) out of bed . . .” Furthermore, with the immense complexity of mod- the fact that the ship crashed at 35 ern bridge equipment. (This is the kilometres per hour “tells me that electronic equipment that allows a somebody, somewhere was not aware ship’s crew to navigate the vessel.) of the gravity of the situation” (The Bowland’s comment was interpreted as Lethbridge Herald, March 29, 2006). being directed at the cruise ship indus- On March 29, a week after the acci- try in general, not the level of training dent, the president of the B.C. Ferry and at B.C. Ferries. Bowland was unable to Marine Workers’ Union criticized the explain his comment, however, because “armchair navigators” who were com- he resigned as director of safety shortly menting on the sinking before the after the accident. B.C. Ferries said that investigation was completed. Jackie Bowland resigned for personal reasons. Miller stressed that all of the comments He had been in the job for only six weeks. being shared with the media were just Shortly after the March 22 accident, speculation and that she hoped the B.C. Ferries’ president David Hahn said rumours would not jeopardize the it was a mystery how Queen of the integrity of the official investigation. Discussion In a small group, discuss how rumours and speculation might interfere with the official investigation into the sinking of Queen of the North. Should media reports have to stress that the information they are reporting is based on opinion only? Is it irresponsible to report on rumours until the investigation is complete? Or are these rumours important “leads” to direct investigators in their search for answers?
CBC News in Review • May 2006 • Page 27 ON THE ROCKS: A B.C. FERRY SINKS Activity
In 1912, the passenger ship Titanic sank, and over 1 500 passengers lost their Further Research lives. In 1914, maritime nations adopted the International Convention for the To investigate the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS Convention) to apply the lessons learned from the full text of the Titanic disaster. SOLAS has been updated and amended many times, but is still SOLAS convention, in force today. It is intended to ensure that in the event of a catastrophe at sea, consider a visit to the passengers and crew have the greatest chances of survival. www.imo.org/ Conventions/ The following is a list of a number of the SOLAS provisions. mainframe.asp? • Reduction of speed around ice. When ice is reported on or near a ship’s topic_id=148. course the master of every ship at night is bound to proceed at a moderate speed or alter course. • Passenger address system. Titanic did not have a public address system. All ships must now include a system of communicating with passengers. • Training of crew in lifeboat drills. The crew of Titanic was not trained in the use of lifeboats. Today, every crewmember must participate in regular life- boat drills and training. • Number of lifeboats. Titanic did not have enough lifeboats for all its passen- gers. All passenger ships today must carry a lifeboat or liferaft for each pas- senger, plus liferafts for another 25 per cent. • Evacuation chutes. Titanic did not have evacuation chutes, so many passen- gers jumped into the water from upper decks. This resulted in a number of injuries and deaths. Passenger ships are now outfitted with fast, safe evacuation chutes. • Design of lifeboats. Some of Titanic’s passengers died of hypothermia (expo- sure to cold) while in lifeboats because they offered no protection from the cold. Lifeboats today must be fully or partially covered to protect passengers properly. In a small group, review one of the maritime disasters listed below and deter- mine whether or not the SOLAS provisions were in place. (You might ask for some direction from your school or community librarian before starting your research.) After recording specific details of the incident, write a summary statement outlining the steps that need to be in place to prevent such disasters in future.
Maritime Disasters • 1987: The ferry Dona Paz collided with the tanker Vector, in the Philippines. Dona Paz officially had 1 550 passengers on board, but some reports claim there were as many as 4 000. Only 24 people survived. • 1990: The passenger and car ferry Scandinavian Star sank while travelling between Norway and Denmark, killing over 150 people. • 1994: The passenger and car ferry Estonia sank in the Baltic Sea. Over 850 people died. • 2002: The ferry MV Joola sank off the coast of Gambia. Over 1 800 people died, making it the worst maritime disaster in African history. • 2006: The Egyptian ferry Al Salam Boccaccio sank in the Red Sea, killing over 1 000 people. • 2006: A passenger ferry capsized off the coast of Djibouti, killing over 100 people.
CBC News in Review • May 2006 • Page 28