March 28, 2024

Radio calls reveal Queen of the North confusion

Nearly seven years after two people died in the sinking of a BC Ferry, it’s a haunting reminder something went horribly wrong that night.

Radio transmissions recorded in the early hours of March 22nd, 2006 offer proof of confusion after the Queen of the North ran aground, started taking on water and quickly sank near the community of Hartley Bay.

Several distress calls were made by a coast guard operator in Prince Rupert with hopes of finding rescuers nearby.

The first responders –as crew members reported they were abandoning ship– were fishing vessels.

The operator can be heard repeatedly asking if anyone was left on board and for head counts as people started arriving at Hartley Bay.

At one point, someone responds ‘there doesn’t appear to be anyone left on board.’

Later, another voice is heard saying, ‘I believe there is nobody left on board.’

The Lone Star fishing boat was first to report, ‘it looks like the vessel has gone down.’

Two of the 101 people on the ship, Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette,  were never found.

Charges of criminal negligence causing death were eventually laid against former navigation officer Karl Lilgert.

CKNW Vancouver News

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