By email;
I have it on good authority that the Safety Board inquiry into the Queen of the North sinking will find no mechanical or safety problems with the BC Ferries ship, but rather reveal that nobody was present on the bridge at the time as the two officers of the watch (a male and a female) were... exploring each other. Apparently there are regular gaps in the log entries over a period of time as this had become a pattern of behaviour.
The Victoria Times confirms a relationship existed between the two officers;
As questions continue to swirl around the Queen of the North sinking, the ferry union boss is dismissing as irrelevant a romantic relationship between two crew members on the bridge when the vessel crashed.B.C. Ferries management said the relationship did not break its rules.
Since the ferry sank, stories have persisted of an affair between the helmswoman and junior (fourth) officer. But there is no evidence that the relationship had anything to do with the sinking, said Jackie Miller, president of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union. No crew has said " 'we're concerned because these two people were having an affair," said Miller. "It has absolutely no bearing and if it had a bearing the TSB [Transportation Safety Board] certainly would have made comment about it by now."
[...]
B.C. Ferries stopped paying the second and fourth officers "months back" because they will not answer questions by the corporation about the last 14 minutes before crash, said [B.C. Ferries spokesman Mark] Stefanson.
Hmmmm......
That rumour has been floating around out here for a while. It'll be interesting to see what the report actually says.
And it's the Victoria Times Colonist, BTW. Maybe the story will get picked up the Saskatoon Phoenix or the Regina Post! ;-)
BC Ferries now renamed:
BC Submariner tours?
Terrible.
My first job was freighters and I've a fair bit of sailing experience. One MUST, no excuses, have people on the bridge doing their jobs while a ship such as this is under way.
I think it is a criminal offence to not have the bridge staffed by a ticketed-by-Transport-Canada watch officer and helmsman/woman, (fairly sure of that).
Plus, if the couple were "busy" then it is the Captain's responsibility to fix that problem and to do so immediately.
The newspaper is the Victoria Times Colonist.
If this is true then they should go to jail for a long long time.
They should also have a civil judgement registered against them and have their wages when released from prison garnished in perpetuity.
I have no sympathy at all if two officers who had a legal responsibility to be at their ship's bridge were instead having sex, which caused BC to lose its first ferry in history and a real, married lovebird couple doing nothing wrong to lose their lives.
Their cowardice in hiding behind their union (and I'm a proud union member) makes me despise them more.
I hope this is not true, but fear it is. If it is true, I hope they get, literally, the maximum possible sentence under the applicable laws for each charge they can receive.
they may not have broken the 'rules' but they sure broke the back of the ship.
hide behind the union, how typical.
this is on the scale of a drunken bridge handler on the welland canal in the late 70s who wrecked the bridge at port robinson. split the town right in 2. property values on the side that didnt have the fire hall and quick access to hospital ie the east side plummeted quickly when it was obvious the neither the province not the seaway authority was going to replace it.
a ship smashed right into it. he was too drunk to properly respond to the oncoming ship and it hit the bridge as it was being raised too late.
gulp gulp gulp boinky boink whatever.
on and on, what unbelievable crassness and criminal disregard.
Someone write a folk song.
Uh-huh. Now it begins.
I wouldn't be surprised if the two "officers" are the in the forefront--more to come--of the wave of entitled individuals, who've come through the educational system without significant consequences to insubordination and unfinished work.
This abdication of responsibility is probably the outcome of years of habitual sloughing off of accountability--and we're definitely going to see an increase in this kind of derelection of duty.
Welcome to the brave new world of shrug, whatever, and "I don't know." Sadly, we ain't seen nuthin' yet.
She (the helmswoman) won't get charged because she's a woman. 98% of federal inmates are men; women are effectively above the law in Canada, and I have the data to prove that. She'll probably complain that she was being sexually harrassed and will sue the survivors for something or other....
Are they still working on ferries? BC Ferries, where are these two?
As George Castanza would say, "was that wrong"?
So, they went from watching to participating in the submarine races..... ;-)
Sounds a bit like SCTV's Das Boobs.
Did they smoke after sex? That would be the real crime, wouldn't it?
Since there were deaths as a result of the bridge crew's actions, the matter is criminal. If they were not on the bridge when they were supposed to be, for whatever reason, including a quicky boinking session, then they are responsible for the deaths.
Lines for the song.
"The Saga of the Too Tight Passage"
way ho and thar she blows.
mate on top and captain below
way ho and thar she blows.
union wont admit to their woes.
of course we could switch it to " the ballad of paris stronach" and refer to the vote in the house as the too tight passage.
"...B.C. Ferries management said the relationship did not break its rules..."
"two people having an affair...it has absolutely no bearing..."
I guess the union's Collective Agreement doesn't include a "No Exploring Each Other While on the Job" policy.
Remember when people were getting sick on disneys BIG RED BOAT? yeah call it their BIG RED BARF BOAT and the ship sinking? IT CROSSED PATHS WITH THE TITANIC
That wouldn't have happened on Captain Stubing's watch.
Seriously, unless their duties include the carnal knowledge of shipmates then they were not doing their duty and as a result people died, and a ship sank. Dereliction of duty is a crime and should be prosecuted as such. Whether they were friends, lovers or just two ships that passed in the night as it were, has nothing to do with it.
"Queen of The North"? "B.C. ferries"?
The humour of an unintended juxtaposition of tragedy with "gaity'!
Bet the poor captain's last name was Van-Dyke!
BC ferries has just lowered the employment qualifications for ships officers on the ferries.
Maybe they were just out whale-watching. Unions have certainly done there part to improve conditions for workers over the years, but most would agree that they have out-lived there usefulness nowdays.
An unexplained 14 minutes before the crash - at least he wasn't a one minute man. Unfortunately, due to the ship's sinking, we will never know if he's a sixty minute man.
Well. I guess there's one relationship that will either sink or swim.
;)
Hey, EBD, you want a folk song?
There's one about the boy who fell in love with the ferryboat itself. For this post, just one verse...
I'ved loved you from that day you first took me for a ride,
It seemed a hopeless match then but now the future's wide
For if they'll marry fairies in BC, I would quip,
I'll take you as my spouse - a loving relation-ship.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they are on long term disability for work related stress.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they are on long term disability for work related stress
If true, this story puts new meaning to the phrase 'rocking the boat'. :)
THE LOVE BOAT SOON WILL BE MAKING ANOTHR RUN.THE LOVE BOAT PROMISES SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE