Queen of the North bridge crew face disciplinary probe

The BC Ferries bridge crew on duty at the time the Queen of the North sank off B.C.'s North Coast last March could face disciplinary action within the next month.

The three crew members responsible for navigation and steering the ship have been singled out by an internal report by the ferry corporation.

The report, released on Monday, concluded human error caused the ferry to run aground on the rocks of Gil Island on March 22, 2006.

The report says the crew on the watch that night did not makea proper course correction as required.It also notes that no one noticed the vessel was off course for 14 minutes, until it hit the rocks.

The report says investigators were unable to determine why those errors occurred.

Now, a new inquiry will begin into the actions of the three crewmembers involved; the helmswoman who was at the wheel, and the second and fourth officers who were in charge of navigation.

The helmswoman and the fourth officer were the two people actually on the bridge at the time of the fatal accident.

There were 101 people aboard the ferry. Ninety-nine passengers and crew managed to get to safety. Two passengers are missing and presumed dead.

Ferriesboss not optimistic that truth will come out

BC Ferries president David Hahn said the two officers on the watch refused to co-operate with the internal inquiry, which doesn't bode well for the upcoming disciplinary inquiry.

"We will start this week, or early next week, a fact-finding investigation. It will involve dealing with the bridge watch team, which includes the second officer, the fourth officer and the helmswoman.

"They'll be asked to participate in that, but given the lack of participation in the past, I'm not hopeful we'll get any more information from that, but then we'll draw our own conclusions and take whatever disciplinary actions we think appropriate."

Hahn expects that to happen by the end of next month.

In the meantime, he said the three crew members have been off active duty since the accident, and the two officers who have refused to cooperate with the internal investigation are not being paid.