Latest Queen of the North revelations once again have critics asking questions

The latest details to come out about the sinking of the Queen of the North have only gone to reinforce the belief that there are some serious problems with the way that BC Ferries is being run.

That at least is the impression that was left with NDP ferries critic and North Coast MLA Gary Coons, who suggests that there are many questions about the handling of the sinking and the subsequent investigation into the sinking.

His thoughts on the state of affairs at BC Ferries were presented in the Friday edition of the Daily News.

'Queen of the North report poses new questions'
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, October 05, 2007
Page one

The newly released information by B.C. Ferries on the sinking of the Queen of the North just adds to the confusion and concern of those people who want answers about the tragedy, say critics.

On Wednesday, B.C. Ferries Divisional Inquiry Panel released an addendum to its original report in to the tragedy March 2006.

In it, B.C. Ferries employees provide testimony that only one crew member was on the bridge at the time the ship ran aground off Gil Island. Of the 101 passengers, 99 survived and two are presumed drowned.

"The premier and Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon could have ordered a judicial inquiry as was done by premier Glen Clark in 1992 when three lives were lost in an incident in Nanaimo," he said.

In four weeks, the public found out what happened and moved on, he said. However this has not been the case within the sinking of the Queen of the North. People have had to wait a year and a half to see if the Transportation Safety Board report due out this month answers the many remaining questions about the tragedy, said Coons.

He went on to say that the new revelation, that only one crew member was on the bridge at the time of the sinking, is troubling, however the report still fails to address four key issues.

First of all, B.C. Ferries never adequately addressed the May 11 Transportation Safety Board advisory that went to B.C. Ferries CEO David Hahn that warned that "crew members on the bridge were not adequately trained and that it is the responsibility of management to ensure this. Training is part and parcel of management responsibility."

Hahn has allegedly called this advisory benign and "didn't know if he bought into it."

Secondly, Coons said the report fails to address the allegations from BC Ferries safety director, Darrin Bowland, who resigned days after the sinking. Bowland says he warned a catastrophic event would happen if management did not heed his warnings about safety and "the lack of qualified people to run the new equipment on the bridges was an accident waiting to happen."

Thirdly, the report does not address any special dispensations or variances that allowed the Queen of the North to sail until 2012 despite reports that clearly called into question the vessel's stability and single compartment design.

And last, B.C. Ferries continues to fail to address the order to "remove and destroy" records and purge documents including ship-specific manuals from the Queen of the North five days after the sinking, said Coons.

"Is a public/judicial inquiry necessary? At this point in time, I believe we need to wait for the full Transportation Safety Board report to see if the public gets the answers we are looking for," said Coons.

"But I believe it's obvious to most British Columbians that something is dreadfully wrong with this particular scenario, and with how our whole ferry system is being managed and it needs to be changed."