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B.C. Ferries released details Thursday about a “rare operational incident” involving a vessel sailing in rough weather off the northern B.C. coast, almost a month after the vessel sailed close to a rock shoal – with only about a metre to spare.
In vessel-tracking video, the 117-metre-long Northern Adventure appears to veer hard to port as it sailed between Prince Rupert and Bella Bella in the early hours of March 8.
On Thursday, B.C. Ferries issued a release offering a summary of what happened during the incident.
The Northern Adventure – a vessel that regularly sails between Port Hardy, Prince Rupert and Haida Gwaii – hit bad weather, and deliberately changed course to navigate around the difficult conditions.
According to B.C. Ferries, that’s when the ship – which was carrying 90 passengers and 55 crew – sailed into an area of shallower water near Milbanke Sound, travelling “at its shallowest point over a shoal in approximately nine metres of water.”
In a press conference, B.C. Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez described how the crew took quick “corrective measures” to veer back on course.
“There were no injuries, no damage to the vessel and no environmental impact. But that doesn’t make it acceptable,” Jimenez said, describing the incident as “rare,” but “concerning.”
A metre to spare near rock shoals
The vessel, which can carry up to 500 passengers and 87 vehicles, needs a minimum navigational depth of about 10 metres, the company told CBC News in an email.
B.C. Ferries says a “fulsome” internal review of the incident is underway to determine what happened and to prevent similar close calls.
20 years since Queen of North tragedy
Jimenez noted that it’s been 20 years since the fatal crash involving the Queen of the North ferry, which ran aground on a voyage between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert in the early hours of March 22, 2006.
Two of the 101 people on board — Gerald Foisey and Shirley Rosette of 100 Mile House — were presumed drowned, and their bodies remain missing two decades later.
The lessons learned after that incident “led to an industry-leading safety program at B.C. Ferries,” Jimenez said.
Questions still linger 20 years after the sinking of B.C. Ferries’ Queen of the North. CBC News speaks with one of the rescuers who remembers the aftermath like it was yesterday.
“This recent near miss reinforces that safety must remain the foundation of everything we do. Our customers and crew must both feel and be safe when they travel with us.”
In a release and email, B.C. Ferries confirmed that it immediately reported the incident to Transport Canada, as required, and later submitted a detailed report to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). Now that the report is complete, the company says it’s sharing incident details with the public.
CBC News requested information about the incident on Tuesday, but B.C. Ferries did not respond.
TSB media relations co-ordinator Liam MacDonald confirmed in an email to CBC News Tuesday that there were no reported incidents involving the Northern Adventure on March 8, according to checks with the regional manager.
The TSB media office said in an email that “a near miss or risk of collision with the environment (rocks, shoals, bottom etc) is not listed as a mandatory reportable occurrence to the TSB.”
Results of an internal review are expected to be produced within a few weeks.