North Coast Review
[This story originally appeared on The North Coast Review, a blog based in Prince Rupert that contains “items of interest to those living on the North Coast of BC.”]
An online petition sponsored by the spouse of one of the deceased members of the tugboat crew lost in an incident last month on the Gardener Canal south of Kitimat is trying to get the vessel raised by the Canadian Coast Guard.
Prince Rupert resident Judy Carlick-Pearson, whose husband Troy was one of three crew members aboard the MV Ingenika Tugboat February 11th, launched the Change.org petition to seek answers to the incident.
As part of the introduction to the petition, Mrs. Pearson notes:
At the time Troy was working with two other shipmates on the tug and of the 3-man crew, 2 died and one survived. The tug was pulling a large barge full of equipment heading to Kemano worksite. The barge was unharmed but the tug somehow sunk and is nowhere to be found…sitting at the bottom of the sea.
The tug is not only full of possible answers but also very full of fuel. We have so many questions about what happened that night. We feel that the tug will not only answer questions but give us some closure as well. If they recover the tug, they may find out why that tugboat sunk, as tugboats aren’t known to sink.
She also issues a call for the community and those willing to help to help find some justice for the two members that perished on the night:
We have been told that there is no priority to find this tug because it isn’t an environmental risk, which is hard to believe. And to top it off, there may be evidence of why the tug capsized and sank, taking the life of two and injuring another and leaving many grief stricken family and friends. Please friends, help me by signing this petition.
Sign and Share please. Lets get some Justice for Troy and Charlie.
One crew member from Prince Rupert survived the incident and was rescued the following day. Upon his discovery, the surviving crew member was transported to Kitimat Hospital.
The Transportation Safety Board, WorkSafe BC and the BC Coroners Office have not yet provided any updates on the path of their investigation into the undetermined accident and the events of that night.
It’s Mrs. Carlick-Pearson’s hope that the recovery of the tugboat may help to provide for some answers as to why the vessel sank. So far the call for assistance for the petition has received over 400 signatures, with 500 names the first target.
If this was a plane the DOT would be all over it investigating why it crashed and making recommendations to prevent future similar issues. For commercial shipping often nothing happens, it’s just accepted that boats sink and people die. My condolences to the families and I agree the tug should be raised and the reason for it sinking examined.