Queen of the North Sinking Investigation

Final Investigation Report
to be Released Mar. 12

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) will hold a news conference on March 12, 2008 to make public the final TSB investigation report into the sinking of the Queen of the North which occurred on March 22, 2006 at Gil Island, Wright Sound, British Columbia.

Media representatives are invited to attend and members of the panel will be available for one-on-one interviews after the news conference.

Event Details:

WHEN:

Wednesday, March 12, 2008
at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time)

WHERE:

Pan Pacific Hotel
Crystal Pavilion B & C
Suite 300-999 Canada Place
Vancouver, British Columbia

WHO:

Mrs. Wendy Tadros, TSB Chair
Captain Yvette Myers, TSB Director of Marine Investigations
Captain Pierre Murray, TSB Senior Marine Investigator

The news conference will also be webcasted live from Vancouver. You can register for the webcast at the following address http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=13294. We encourage you to register and test your computer at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the news conference.

To view the materials previously released about this occurrence, please visit: http://www.tsb.gc.ca/en/media/Major_Investigation/Marine/M06W0052/MI-M06W0052.asp

The final report will be posted, at the same time, on the TSB website at www.tsb.gc.ca.

The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.

Previously Released Report Addressed Cannabis Use

THE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD OF CANADA ISSUES A BOARD CONCERN REGARDING CANNABIS USE BY CREW MEMBERS IN BC FERRIES' NORTHERN FLEET

(Gatineau, Quebec, October 17, 2007) - The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) issued a Board Concern about cannabis use aboard ferries to BC Ferries as part of the ongoing investigation into the sinking of the Queen of the North on March 22, 2006 (TSB occurrence M06W0052).

The Board Concern was issued after the TSB learned that several crew members of the Queen of the North regularly smoked cannabis between shifts, both on board and off the vessel. The Board stressed that there is no evidence that the crew members on the bridge at the time of the accident were impaired.

"Ferry crews whose performance is impaired by cannabis are a clear risk to the travelling public," said Mrs. Wendy A. Tadros, Chair of the Board. "We are confident that BC Ferries will determine the extent of the problem and effectively manage this risk so it will not lead to a serious accident," she added.

In expressing its concern and highlighting the risk, the Board believes that BC Ferries is in the best position to determine whether this behaviour is present on board other vessels in its northern fleet. As a first step, BC Ferries should determine whether cannabis is in use by crews of other vessels or whether it was isolated to the Queen of the North. This should include a review of the effectiveness of the company's policy on alcohol/drugs. The Board further encouraged BC Ferries to address the issue without delay.

The TSB will be monitoring the progress made by BC Ferries on this issue and will be reporting on it in its final report into the sinking of the Queen of the North.

The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.