14/10/06, Robert Matas, Captain drops lawsuit against ferry company
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Man cites legal costs among reasons for quitting wrongful-dismissal action.
VANCOUVER -- The captain of the ship that sank off B.C.'s central coast this spring dropped his wrongful-dismissal lawsuit against BC Ferries yesterday. But he did not abandon his allegation that the fatal disaster could have been prevented if his safety recommendations had been accepted.
"Absolutely, 100 per cent," Captain Darin Bowland said when asked in an interview if he still believed the ferry could have avoided disaster if his advice had been followed.
Breaking a six-month silence, Capt. Bowland said he has sworn an affidavit that sets out in detail his attempts to tell senior ferry officers about the gravity of the situation. He called on the ferry corporation to publicly release the material. He has been advised he could not publicize the information because he signed a confidentiality agreement when he started working at BC Ferries, he said.
However, BC Ferries president David Hahn adamantly denied that Capt. Bowland issued safety warnings that could have prevented the sinking. Capt. Bowland abandoned the lawsuit because his allegations lacked credibility, Mr. Hahn said.
"We conducted a thorough internal investigation with an outside law firm and I am advised by the firm that there is no merit to any of the contents in [Capt. Bowland's] affidavit," Mr. Hahn said in an interview. "The fact that he has withdrawn his action proves our point that we made all along. There is no basis to it."
Mr. Hahn said he did not see a warning from Capt. Bowland. "That is his allegation. If he had that, don't you think he would continue with the lawsuit?" Mr. Hahn asked. The lawsuit was about money, not safety, he added.
Mr. Hahn also said he had no intention of publicly releasing Capt. Bowland's affidavit.
"These are allegations. Why would anyone publish a list of allegations with no substance or form behind them," he said. "If there was credibility here, he would be pressing forward with his lawsuit. Why would I agree to somebody taking something they are not even willing to take to the next level, and let him publish it? I'd have to be crazy," Mr. Hahn said.
Capt. Bowland, 42, had been hired as a safety expert six weeks before the Queen of the North sank on March 22. He resigned five days after the accident, but said in the suit he launched in June that his departure amounted to constructive dismissal. In the legal claim, he alleged that senior management ignored his warnings of a strong likelihood of "catastrophic incidents" if safety practices were not immediately improved.
Capt. Bowland said yesterday he decided to discontinue his lawsuit as a result of the "prohibitive" cost of litigation and a desire to move on with his life. He is currently working as a marine surveyor.
He has been torn between his professional obligations as a master mariner and the rest of his life. On one hand, he wants "to get the story out and to certainly not allow what actually happened to the ferry to be swept under the carpet," he said. But he also had a family and many other things to deal with.
His primary concern has always been safety, Capt. Bowland said.
"They had an offer on the table of one dollar, which was sitting there for months," he said. "I decided to take that and send a message to Mr. Hahn that this whole thing was not about money. It's all about safety, and that was my motivation."
The Queen of the North sank after hitting Gil Island, south of Prince Rupert. Ninety-nine passengers and crew members were saved by nearby residents of Hartley Bay. Two people, Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette, are presumed to have drowned. The Transportation Safety Board has not yet released its report on the accident.
VANCOUVER -- The captain of the ship that sank off B.C.'s central coast this spring dropped his wrongful-dismissal lawsuit against BC Ferries yesterday. But he did not abandon his allegation that the fatal disaster could have been prevented if his safety recommendations had been accepted.
"Absolutely, 100 per cent," Captain Darin Bowland said when asked in an interview if he still believed the ferry could have avoided disaster if his advice had been followed.
Breaking a six-month silence, Capt. Bowland said he has sworn an affidavit that sets out in detail his attempts to tell senior ferry officers about the gravity of the situation. He called on the ferry corporation to publicly release the material. He has been advised he could not publicize the information because he signed a confidentiality agreement when he started working at BC Ferries, he said.
However, BC Ferries president David Hahn adamantly denied that Capt. Bowland issued safety warnings that could have prevented the sinking. Capt. Bowland abandoned the lawsuit because his allegations lacked credibility, Mr. Hahn said.
"We conducted a thorough internal investigation with an outside law firm and I am advised by the firm that there is no merit to any of the contents in [Capt. Bowland's] affidavit," Mr. Hahn said in an interview. "The fact that he has withdrawn his action proves our point that we made all along. There is no basis to it."
Mr. Hahn said he did not see a warning from Capt. Bowland. "That is his allegation. If he had that, don't you think he would continue with the lawsuit?" Mr. Hahn asked. The lawsuit was about money, not safety, he added.
Mr. Hahn also said he had no intention of publicly releasing Capt. Bowland's affidavit.
"These are allegations. Why would anyone publish a list of allegations with no substance or form behind them," he said. "If there was credibility here, he would be pressing forward with his lawsuit. Why would I agree to somebody taking something they are not even willing to take to the next level, and let him publish it? I'd have to be crazy," Mr. Hahn said.
Capt. Bowland, 42, had been hired as a safety expert six weeks before the Queen of the North sank on March 22. He resigned five days after the accident, but said in the suit he launched in June that his departure amounted to constructive dismissal. In the legal claim, he alleged that senior management ignored his warnings of a strong likelihood of "catastrophic incidents" if safety practices were not immediately improved.
Capt. Bowland said yesterday he decided to discontinue his lawsuit as a result of the "prohibitive" cost of litigation and a desire to move on with his life. He is currently working as a marine surveyor.
He has been torn between his professional obligations as a master mariner and the rest of his life. On one hand, he wants "to get the story out and to certainly not allow what actually happened to the ferry to be swept under the carpet," he said. But he also had a family and many other things to deal with.
His primary concern has always been safety, Capt. Bowland said.
"They had an offer on the table of one dollar, which was sitting there for months," he said. "I decided to take that and send a message to Mr. Hahn that this whole thing was not about money. It's all about safety, and that was my motivation."
The Queen of the North sank after hitting Gil Island, south of Prince Rupert. Ninety-nine passengers and crew members were saved by nearby residents of Hartley Bay. Two people, Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette, are presumed to have drowned. The Transportation Safety Board has not yet released its report on the accident.
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