Investigations and legal aftermath
BC Ferries completed an internal investigation into the sinking and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada conducted a separate investigation.
On March 26, 2006, Queen of the North was located by a manned submersible craft at a depth of 427 m.[14] The ship was intact, according to BC Ferries, and was "resting in silt on the keel and the silt covers the hull up to what's called the rubbing strake and above in some areas."[15] At the time of its discovery, the sunken vessel was located at 53° 19.91' N, 129° 14.72' W. Images of the scene were given to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada as part of the investigation into the cause of the sinking.
On March 26, 2007, BC Ferries released the results of its investigation. They blamed the sinking on human error caused by three crew members, specifically Queen of the North's helmswoman (Briker), who was at the wheel of the ship, as well as the ship's second and fourth officers, who had been in charge of navigation.[16] A Vancouver Sun editorial on the sinking noted that two ferry crew members on the watch—the ferry's second and fourth officer—were uncooperative during the course of the BC Ferries internal inquiry.[17] BC Ferries president David Hahn doubted that any new information would be forthcoming from a future disciplinary inquiry, due to the uncooperative responses by these two officers on night watch at the time of the sinking.[18][19] The Vancouver Sun stated that the BC Ferries report "dismisses the idea that confusion over how to use new bridge equipment installed a month before the crash had anything to do with the sinking."[18] The BC Ferries report also highlights the role of the fourth officer, who had control of the ship from Sainty Point, but failed to make the necessary course correction. According to the report, the Vancouver Sun wrote that: "Just before the crash, the fourth officer screamed at the helmswoman to make a bold course correction – a 109-degree turn – and to switch off the autopilot. But she [the helmswoman] 'stated not knowing where the switch was located.' [The] BC Ferries' report questions the validity of this evidence 'as the autopilot disengages simply with a single switch and would have been operated numerous times by the [helmswoman].' However, in its own report, BC Ferries states the master found it necessary to post a note for navigational crew on how to operate the autopilot and included procedures for changing modes. Evidence was given that the woman at the wheel didn't know the location of the ship when she took over as lookout – or that the ferry was about to crash – until she saw trees. She said she was asked to make only one, maybe two small course changes as directed by the fourth officer after she started her shift but that was ... until just before the vessel hit Gil Island.[18]"
The Vancouver Sun does cite an earlier safety board advisory which said that the bridge crew "were confused about how to use a new steering mode selector switch – that, among other things, controls whether the ship is on autopilot or manual steering – installed in a retrofit in February [2006]."[18] However, BC Ferries concluded that the bridge crew working the night of the disaster "chose" to use newly installed steering controls in a way "different" from the manner instructed, but that this choice did not appear to have been the cause for the grounding of Queen of the North.[18] David Hahn states that: "The ship never altered course at all. It never changed its speed, it just ran straight into Gil Island ... There's nothing to indicate they [the three crew members] ever tried anything, It's just human error.[18]"
While the three key crew members were reportedly cooperating with a separate Transportation Safety Board (TSB) inquiry into the tragedy, Michael Smyth, a newspaper columnist at The Province, noted that the TSB does not have the authority to assign blame to any party involved in the sinking, unlike the BC Ferries internal inquiry.[20] Consequently, no one would be held accountable for the sinking of Queen of the North.
On March 27, 2006, Alexander and Maria Kotai filed a lawsuit against BC Ferries for negligence, claiming that the company failed to train the crew adequately, supervise the bridge crew, keep proper lookout, operate at a safe speed, and conduct the evacuation to prevent or minimize injuries. The Kotais were moving house at the time from Kitimat to Nanaimo, and lost many of their personal possessions in the sinking. The amount of damages that they sought has not been specified.[21][22]
On April 24, 2007, BC Ferries fired three Queen of the North crew members who were on the bridge when the ship collided with Gil Island and sank. BC Ferries claims that these three employees were not cooperating fully with all investigators.[23] The B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union represented the ferry crew members. The union indicated that it would appeal the terminations.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) continued a criminal investigation into the sinking.[24] The TSB's final report was released to the public on March 12, 2008. Its main conclusion was that sound navigational practices and regulations were not followed by the 4 navigational crew at the time.[25]
On the morning of March 16, 2010, in B.C. Provincial Court in Vancouver, a charge of criminal negligence causing death was laid against Karl Lilgert. He was the navigating officer responsible for steering the vessel at the time of the sinking. The charge was reported in a statement issued by the province's Criminal Justice Branch.[26]
On May 13, 2013, Lilgert was convicted of two counts of criminal negligence causing death in B.C. Supreme Court by a jury after five days of deliberations.[27] In 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal; it was expected he would have to serve his four-year sentence.[28]
