by Laura Walz [email protected] Powell River elected officials have written a letter to BC Ferries expressing “deep concerns” about the Queen of Chilliwack replacing the Queen of Burnaby on the Powell River to Vancouver Island route this fall.
City of Powell River Mayor Stewart Alsgard and Colin Palmer, Powell River Regional District board chair, have written to David Hahn, BC Ferries president and CEO, and Donald Hayes, chair of BC Ferries board. The Chilliwack is slated to sail on the route starting Monday, September 26 until mid-December while the Burnaby is undergoing a three-month refit.
“In 2010 the vessel was used in the same months, resulting in a number of delays and one memorable set of circumstances when passengers believed they were at serious risk,” Alsgard and Palmer wrote. “Not only is there now a perceived safety factor in the community for 2011 if passengers are to travel on the Chilliwack, but the fact that Transport Canada is requiring two sets of watertight doors inside the vessel on its next refit is heightening concern.”
Controversy arose after a sailing of the Chilliwack on November 25, 2010 took nearly eight hours to cross from Powell River to Comox due to rough seas. A BC Ferries investigation looking into the incident suggested that pressure to get the vessel and crew “home” may have been a factor in the captain’s decision to sail. The report also found that neither the Chilliwack nor the Burnaby have sufficient information or procedures in their Vessel Specific Manuals concerning heavy weather.
BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall wrote in an email to the Peak that the information gathered from risk assessments was used to develop heavy weather procedures for all BC Ferries vessels, including the Chilliwack. Also three sets of flood doors installed during the ship’s last refit “ensure that the vessel maintains stability if the car deck were to get flooded.”
Alsgard and Palmer asked BC Ferries to answer six specific questions about the Chilliwack, including if the company is satisfied that it meets all current shipping regulations for Route 17, that the masters of the ship have enough sailing information to ensure passenger safety and what are the rescue plans for a substantial number of passengers if the vessel experiences serious difficulties in the Strait of Georgia or Malaspina Strait.
“Is it too late to ask for a larger replacement vessel, which could be brought into service at some point in the next few weeks?” Alsgard and Palmer asked.
They also suggested that BC Ferries step up information being supplied to passengers before and during sailings, “in order to ensure everyone is aware of what is being planned or what is occurring with this vessel. A lack of information does not allay fears and does not set a positive tone,” they wrote.
