As seen on eBay…

The curious disappearance of the Queen of the North Log books took another bizarre twist today, with the report that books possibly had re-appeared, all be it briefly on eBay.

A poster by the name of Blissmeister put some Queen of the North log books up for sale this morning (they were never actually described as the final journey log books) along with pictures of the ill fated vessel(shown on the visit my store page item 160054435718 as of Tuesday night) , only to pull them down late Tuesday night after they had reached a bid level of $57.30.

It’s just another strange set of circumstances to pop up around the sinking of the BC Ferry, coming hot on the heels of an announcement that the survivors of the sinking had filed affidavits alleging negligence and recklessness against those crew members on board and BC Ferries on the night in question.

In addition to that affidavit, BC Ferries will also be feeling the heat after the former captain of the Queen of the North, Lewis Glentworth, filed his own affidavit in support of a previous legal effort back in September by two surivors of the sinking. Glentworth did not hold back while accusing the ship's officer and a helmswoman of gross dereliction of duty for the ship's sinking last March.

With all the questions surrounding the events earlier this year, it’s rather apparent that answers are needed now, not later. Expect the calls for a judicial inquiry to come quicker and louder in the next little while, from log books on eBay to dueling legal moves, the developments are getting beyond the ridiculous.

One would hope that the answer to this dark moment for B. C. Ferries will not be found by purchasing some of the needed parts on an on line auction service. Surely we can expect a lot more from the different agencies involved at the moment.

The time seems to have been long past that this whole incident be turned over to the Police and the Judiciary for further investigation, there's a need to get to the facts on this and nothing but the facts.

Below from Canadian Press the story of the log books on sale at eBay.

Logbooks, photos said to be from sunken B.C. ferry
go up for sale on EBay
November 22, 2006 - 2:19

VANCOUVER (CP) - Logbooks said to be from a ferry that sank near Prince Rupert, B.C. earlier this year were briefly up for sale on an online auction site Tuesday.

A seller on EBay named Blissmeister listed a lot of pictures and logbooks from the Queen of the North. The logbooks detailing the ship's activity the night it sank have been reported as missing. The description of the items up for sale didn't specify whether they were the documents in question. The listing was taken down late Tuesday night, but not before attracting a high bid of $57.30.

The ferry went off course and crashed into Gil Island in March.

Ninety-nine people escaped and two are missing and presumed drowned.

"I feel as though I have hung on to these items long enough and would rather have a more serious collector have them," the seller said in a description of the items before they were removed.

"I do not own the copyright to any of this stuff and am auctioning it off for collectible purposes only."

The seller was also offering a set of pictures of the ferry. Logbooks are considered legal documents that are supposed to remain in the hands of the ship's owners.

Update 2 am: Canada.com had the latest on the log book story, with a report that the seller says that the books in question were not from the night of the sinking.

Logbooks up for sale on EBay not from sunken B.C. ferry, seller says

Canadian Press
Wednesday, November 22, 2006

VANCOUVER (CP) - A would-be EBay auctioneer says logbooks he listed for sale Tuesday weren't from a ferry that sunk near Prince Rupert, B.C. earlier this year.

In the listing, which was removed only hours after it was posted, a man called Blissmeister was offering "exclusive Queen of the North pictures, logbooks etc."

It was the latest twist in the ongoing saga over what exactly happened when the ferry sank in March. BC Ferries had confirmed that the logbooks chronicling that voyage were believed to have gone down with the ship. Until the listing surfaced on EBay.

But Blissmeister said in an e-mail to The Canadian Press that he wasn't trying to peddle missing documents.

"The log books which were in my listing were not the books the media has reported as me having," he said. "I purchased these nautical designed logbooks locally just the other day to go along with the theme of my listing."

The seller said the online auction site had removed his listing and he was waiting to find out why.
The listing had attracted a high bid of $57.30 and a significant amount of interest from the media throughout the province before it was removed.

The ferry went off course and crashed into Gil Island in March.

Ninety-nine people escaped and two are missing and presumed drowned.

Recent weeks have seen allegations that crew members turned off a key piece of navigational equipment and accusations of dereliction of duty from a former captain of the ship.

BC Ferries hasn't responded to affidavits filed in court in connection with the crew's actions that night, but have said they believe the missing logbooks were innocently left on board.

© The Canadian Press 2006

Update Number 2-- November 22, 1 pm, The CBC has a story posted this morning on the web, which suggests that the seller claims this was all a misunderstanding, he was just trying to seel nautically themed dayplanners and did not know that the log books from the Queen of the North had gone missing. See story below.


Ferry logbooks not on sale on eBay
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 8:22 AM PT
CBC News

It was all a misunderstanding says the B.C. man who had been reported to be selling the missing logbooks from the sunken ferry, the Queen of the North, on eBay.

The man from Prince Rupert, who calls himself "Blissmeister," had advertised what he claimed were exclusive photos and logbooks from the ship.

"Also included in this one-of-a-kind hard-to-find auction lot, are log books which are secured inside the manila envelopes shown below," read the ad on the eBay auction site.

But speaking to CBC News on Wednesday, the man said he was just trying to sell nautically-themed dayplanners to complement pictures of the vessel.

"The thing with eBay is they only give you a certain amount of characters to describe your item in the auction title and 'dayplanners' wouldn't fit."

He said he didn't realize the logbooks from the Queen of the North were missing,

The auction was pulled from the eBay site last night.

BC Ferries president David Hahn says the situation is unfortunate. "It sure sounds like someone just trying to take advantage of what's been going on in the news today."

The Queen of the North, with 101 passengers and crew aboard, sank after running aground on B.C.'s North Coast on March 22. Two people are missing and presumed dead.