Ferry sinks, passengers taken to Hartley Bay

[tuvor]

It appears all 101 passengers and crew have been accounted for after a ferry bound for Port Hardy sank off the coast of British Columbia near the Queen Charlotte Islands early Wednesday morning.

The ferry had been making the 450-kilometre journey from Prince Rupert south to Port Hardy.

The Queen of the North went down shortly after 1 a.m. PST on Wednesday, about 135 kilometres from Prince Rupert. Officials said the vessel began to tip to one side before it sank.

The ship is now completely submerged, said the Search and Rescue Centre in Victoria.

http://www.cbc.ca/bc/story/bc-ferrysinks20060322.html

[benburch]

1. Good! That could have been a LOT worse.

Any word on why she sank?

[tuvor]

2. No reason why yet, but according to the article

(The Queen of the North is) not normally used for the inside passage route along the province's north coast, but was being used while the smaller Queen of Prince Rupert was undergoing maintenance."

That might have something to do with it, but we likely won't know for sure for at least a few days.

[benburch]

3. Maybe too deep a draft.

A course that would be fine with a smaller vessel might get your bottom torn out on a rock with a large ship. And not all rocks and shoals are accurately plotted.

[Lisa]

9. given that the accident happened when most passengers were asleep

... I'm glad they managed to get mobilized so quickly. Kudos to the local residents who went out to help search.

I hope that the 2 missing people were actually rescued and took off for Prince Rupert before the head-count was completed.


http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/03/22/bc_ferry060322.html

[icymist]

4. Updated article: Ferry Sinks Off British Columbia Coast, All Reported Safe

Ferry Sinks Off British Columbia Coast, All Reported Safe

March 22, 2006

By KOMO Staff & News Services
PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. - A large British Columbia ferry hit a rock and sank off the Queen Charlotte Islands in rough weather early Wednesday, but authorities said all 101 passengers and crew members were safe.

Canadian coast guard spokesman Dan Bate said the southbound Queen of the North hit the rock without warning at 12:26 a.m. PST off Gil Island in Wright Sound. The area is about 85 miles south of this mainland town, which is south of the tip of the Alaska Panhandle and about 580 miles northwest of Seattle.

Passengers and crew members aboard the 409-foot ship began boarding life rafts less than half an hour later, then were taken aboard the Canadian icebreaker Sir Wilfred Laurier with no reports of significant injury or other physical distress, Bate said.

Weather at the time was reported to be 45 mph winds with choppy seas.
(more)
http://www.komotv.com/stories/42529.htm

[tuvor]

5. Turns out there were worries that one WAS missing.

A couple of hours after posting the OP, I was at work today, and found out that a male friend of a lady I work with is a crewmember on that particular ferry. She was worried sick because there was word today that one man was actually NOT accounted for, after all.

Turns out, thank God, that some woman used her boyfriend's pass (or some such thing) to board the ferry, so for a time they were looking for a man who wasn't on board.

[daleo]

6. The latest CBC story says 2 feared missing. n/t

[Suich]

7. Was that a passenger only ferry or

were there cars onboard also?

[Lisa]

8. cars too ...

Apparently it could hold up to 115 cars, but I don't know whether it was at capacity.





http://www.bcferries.com/about/fleet/profile-queen_of_the_north.html

[ShockediSay]

10. Update

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-03-23T040413Z_01_N22243403_RTRUKOC_0_US-CRASH-CANADA-FERRY.xml&archived=False

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A ferry carrying about 100 people sank after it strayed off course in the early morning darkness on Canada's rugged Pacific Coast on Wednesday, but officials believe everyone was rescued safely....

Residents of Hartley Bay, a remote aboriginal village of about 200 people, heard the ferry's distress call and sent boats to the scene. Victims were given blankets and food as they were brought to shore.

No serious injuries were reported, but 11 people were transported by helicopter to a Prince Rupert hospital and later released.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


I hate to think what would have happened if OUR government were coordinating the mission.

[DiverDave]

11. I've been through there,

the tides RIP through some of the narrower channels.

Glad to hear all are safe.