05/05/07, Gary Mason, Workers at centre of B.C. ferry sinking fired
Post
VANCOUVER — The three B.C. Ferry workers at the centre of the Queen of the North sinking last year have been fired, The Globe and Mail has learned.
The dismissals come nearly one month after an internal investigation into the March 22, 2006, marine disaster found that the three workers were not doing their jobs properly in the minutes leading up the accident.
"I can confirm that three employees at the centre of the investigation have been terminated. They were notified in writing as of April 24," B.C. Ferries spokesman Mark Stefanson said.
"The three at the heart of the company's investigation resulted in these three terminations for cause and they were followed through on April 24," he said. "It was as a direct result of our investigation."
Mr. Stefanson said the ferry workers' union has the right to appeal the dismissals and the individual employees can also appeal their terminations.
A spokesman for the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union was not available for comment Friday.
The RCMP, meantime, is said to be close to completing its investigation into the accident, which left two people dead. That report may offer the most complete picture yet of the circumstances that caused the vessel to run full speed into the rocky shoreline of Gil Island on the north central coast of British Columbia.
The company's report into the sinking found that the three people in charge of the vessel at the time — second officer Keven Hilton, fourth officer Karl Lilgert and quartermaster Karen Bricker — failed to follow normal operating procedures. Consequently, the ferry did not alter course as it emerged from Grenville Channel into Wright Sound and ran into Gil Island.
Mr. Hilton, Mr. Lilgert and Ms. Bricker were the three fired by the company.
On the advice of union lawyers, Mr. Hilton and Mr. Lilgert earlier refused to answer questions by company investigators about what happened in the final, crucial 14 minutes leading up to the crash. Ms. Bricker did answer some questions about that period but investigators found many of her answers suspect.
She told company investigators she didn't even know how to shut-off the autopilot.
The federal Transportation Safety Board has also finished its report into sinking. According to sources, its findings pretty much mirror those of the ferry corporation.
Lawsuits related to the sinking are pending.
The dismissals come nearly one month after an internal investigation into the March 22, 2006, marine disaster found that the three workers were not doing their jobs properly in the minutes leading up the accident.
"I can confirm that three employees at the centre of the investigation have been terminated. They were notified in writing as of April 24," B.C. Ferries spokesman Mark Stefanson said.
"The three at the heart of the company's investigation resulted in these three terminations for cause and they were followed through on April 24," he said. "It was as a direct result of our investigation."
Mr. Stefanson said the ferry workers' union has the right to appeal the dismissals and the individual employees can also appeal their terminations.
A spokesman for the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union was not available for comment Friday.
The RCMP, meantime, is said to be close to completing its investigation into the accident, which left two people dead. That report may offer the most complete picture yet of the circumstances that caused the vessel to run full speed into the rocky shoreline of Gil Island on the north central coast of British Columbia.
The company's report into the sinking found that the three people in charge of the vessel at the time — second officer Keven Hilton, fourth officer Karl Lilgert and quartermaster Karen Bricker — failed to follow normal operating procedures. Consequently, the ferry did not alter course as it emerged from Grenville Channel into Wright Sound and ran into Gil Island.
Mr. Hilton, Mr. Lilgert and Ms. Bricker were the three fired by the company.
On the advice of union lawyers, Mr. Hilton and Mr. Lilgert earlier refused to answer questions by company investigators about what happened in the final, crucial 14 minutes leading up to the crash. Ms. Bricker did answer some questions about that period but investigators found many of her answers suspect.
She told company investigators she didn't even know how to shut-off the autopilot.
The federal Transportation Safety Board has also finished its report into sinking. According to sources, its findings pretty much mirror those of the ferry corporation.
Lawsuits related to the sinking are pending.
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