B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union gives credit to ferry crew

Two passengers unaccounted for after B.C. Ferries' vessel sinks on West Coast

Victoria (24 March 2006) - The B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union says the quick response by crew members prevented what might have been a much greater disaster when the B.C. Ferries' vessel Queen of the North sank off the British Columbia coast early Wednesday.

The union is an affiliate of the British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU), which is a Component of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE).

BCFMWU President Jackie Miller says initial information indicates that crew members did a superb job of evacuating the sinking vessel and getting passengers onto lifeboats. Initial reports said all passengers were rescued. However, it now appears that two persons may have been lost when the ferry sank off the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Miller said the ship, built in 1969 in Germany, was due to be replaced long ago when the safety of single-compartment ferries became an issue following the sinking of a ferry off Belgium in 1987. Two hundred passengers died when the Herald of Free Enterprise was swamped when its rear doors were left open.

"We're very anxious now and we will be looking forward to the government and B.C. Ferries working on a rebuild program for the north and getting service back up there,” Miller says. She has cautioned the public not to draw any conclusions about crew errors in the B.C. Ferries sinking, noting it might very well have been a mechanical problem. NUPGE