The Vancouver Province offered up a long list of mishaps and safety issues crom the files of BC Ferries in the Sunday Paper this weekend. A list stretching from May of 2003 and running up until one week ago. For the most part the problems listed went un reported by the mainstream media (up until Sunday we suppos) and comprise what the Ferry Corporation calls "a normal range of incidents for a fleet of 34 vessels."
Of interest to North Coast residents would be a report of an engine room fire on the Queen of the North on February 20th, listed in the Province as follows: A fire on the Queen of Prince Rupert Feb. 20. An engine gasket blew, freeing hot gases that sparked a fire. Although crew put it out with a small, portable extinguisher, a larger cart extinguisher proved “useless.” Flash fires are not uncommon in engine rooms.
The comprehensive examination of the woes of the Ferry Fleet comes at a time when the Corporation is under heavy scrutiny over a number of issues, one would gather that the publication of the safety and incident log probably won't do much to deflect any of that attention.
Is this a normal safety record?
MISHAPS: Company says this long list of incidents is nothing out of the ordinary
The Province
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Reports by B.C. Ferries on incidents and accidents aboard its vessels and at its terminals over the past several years paint a picture of wide-ranging woes.
Among them: groundings, near-groundings, collisions, near-collisions, fires, engine and mechanical failures, a series of ramp accidents and assorted hard landings.
The company calls it a normal range of incidents for a fleet of 34 vessels. All, including those strictly attributable to human error, are the kinds of events that a safety-management system is meant to record, analyze and prevent from recurring. The incidents, most of which went unreported to the media, are described in company reports obtained by The Province. They include:
Stranding of the Queen of Capilano in Horseshoe Bay a week ago after both its engines shut down and the ferr y had to drop anchors. It was believed to have been touched off when a governor that controls the engine’s speed was lost. The incident is still under investigation.
A fire on the Queen of Prince Rupert Feb. 20. An engine gasket blew, freeing hot gases that sparked a fire. Although crew put it out with a small, portable extinguisher, a larger cart extinguisher proved “useless.” Flash fires are not uncommon in engine rooms.
Two incidents in February in which passengers were discovered aboard the Queens of Alberni and Capilano after the ferry was tied up and crew gone. In one, the driver woke up and used a car horn to get an engineer’s attention; overnight fueling continued while the vehicle was escorted off, contrary to regulations. In the second, fueling stopped and the captain was called back after a scramble to contact him. Both raised security questions, although the company dismissed them as “embarrassing” moments.
On Dec. 2, 2005, while the Quinitsa was tied up for the night at Denman West, the rising tide jammed the ferr y against the ramp apron. The night watchperson attempted to lift the ramp clear, but the power to it wasn’t working. In the end, mooring lines were cut, the apron fell into the water and, in the middle of the night, gravel trucks were borrowed to weight the ramp so its locking pins could be freed.
In November 2005, the Queen of Cumberland arrived late at Village Bay. During loading, crew eyed a van that seemed in danger of being hit by a ramp but were worried that moving the vehicle would take too long. The van was damaged when the ramp was tilted.
In October 2005, the captain misjudged the wind and tide as the Queen of Surrey approached Tsawwassen and the ferry hit the wooden pads, crushing part of the rubbing strake.
On Sept . 5, 2005, an engineer on the Queen of Burnaby was nearly exposed to asbestos after crew reported wet, mouldy carpeting in a lounge. Crew were worried about handling the carpet so the engineer, who was “made to feel” it was his job, hauled it out.
In July of 2005, the Queen of Oak Bay grounded in Horseshoe Bay after its engines stopped. Federal investigators said the design flaw applied to four other ferries; the company conceded “it could happen again.”
On May 11, 2005, two motorcycles were the first off the upper deck of the Spirit of British Columbia’s upper car deck. Both crashed into a steel gate at the bottom of the ramp that was still closed.
On May 3, 2005, the Kahloke was approaching Thetis Island when the ferry sheered mysteriously to starboard. Despite corrective action, the ferry hit the floating lead.
Early on May 1, 2005, after the Queen of Cowichan took off from Departure Bay, a passenger became agitated and assaulted crew, who had to restrain him. The man died aboard the ferry despite the efforts of a doctor. Crew say they remain traumatized by an incident they had no training for.
On April 26, 2005, an officer on the Queen of Nanaimo noticed the shore ramp seemed low as they approached Sturdies Bay. The captain acted quickly and backed up, but then pushed the ferry forward, hitting the apron and shoving the ramp about six centimetres ashore.
On April 12, 2005, the Spirit of Vancouver Island was approaching Active Pass and rounding Mary Anne Point when a tug and tow suddenly appeared in mid-channel and the two passed at about 100 metres apart — a hair’s breadth, in shipping terms. The tug had been reported to the ferry; an officer did not pass word to the captain.
In April 2005, as the Spirit of British Columbia was loading at Swartz Bay a vehicle was sent toward a ramp that had already been raised in error. The car was stopped at the last minute, just 10 metres away from the stern. On July 15, 2004, a crab boat bounced off the bow of the Bowen Queen as it left Tsawwassen for Saltspring Island. The crew was freshly back from days off and the ferry had left late due to right-angle drive problems.
On Jan. 11, 2004, the Queen of Surrey crushed a tug that was on standby off a dock to help it in to Horseshoe Bay after earlier clutch problems.
On May 12, 2003, an engine-room fire on the Queen of Surrey as it left Horseshoe Bay posed a brief, catastrophic risk when the fire-suppression system failed.
© The Province 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment