Investigation Into Sinking In Full Swing
By 250 News
Friday, March 24, 2006 03:58 AM
There are two investigations underway in connection with the sinking of the Queen of the North.
The first, will try to answer the question, what happened to Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette? Despite rumours the couple had been spotted in Hartley Bay following the sinking of the ferry, as every moment passes, it would seem more and more likely the couple from 100 Mile House went down with the ship. The RCMP have circulated photos of the couple, but have not been able to get any information that would confirm they got off the ship. Even B.C. Ferries CEO David Hahn fears the worst, saying he now believes there is a strong possibility the two never got off the Queen of the North.
The other investigation is aimed at answering the question of why was the Queen of the North off course? The Transportation Safety Board has a team of eight investigators in Prince Rupert interviewing all who were on board, or had knowledge of the ship and B.C. Ferries procedures, in an effort to figure out why the ship was off course, and what went wrong.
The ship is lying on the bottom of Wright Sound in about 1400 feet of water. There have been suggestions a remote submersible may be sent down to take a look at the wreck although B.C. Ferries has said it has no intention of salvaging the ship.
There are also environmental issues that have yet to be addressed. It is believed the Queen of the North had about 222 thousand litres of diesel fuel in her tanks, as well as 23 thousand litres of lube oil. There's also the matter of the gas on board the vehicles on the car deck. The gas tanks in those 16 vehicles could also start leaking. Although an environmental team has been dispatched to the area and a containment boom set up, there has been no word on possible impact on fisheries or wildlife.
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