Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

Charges laid in deadly tug sinking in B.C.

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Feb, 2023 12:49 PM
  • Charges laid in deadly tug sinking in B.C.

PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. - Charges have now been laid against a tug and barge company and one of its senior officials two years after a tug sank off British Columbia's coast south of Kitimat, killing the captain and one crew member.

Court documents show a total of eight counts have been laid against Wainwright Marine Services and James Bates, the president of Bates Properties Ltd., which includes Wainwright Marine as one of its operations.

The charges relate to alleged violations of occupational health and safety regulations under the Workers Compensation Act, and court records show a first appearance is scheduled next month in a Prince Rupert courtroom.

Fifty-eight-year-old tug captain Troy Pearson and 25-year-old crew member Charley Cragg died, while a third crew member survived, when the tug Ingenika went down in a storm in February 2021 while towing a barge.

Transport Canada's website shows Wainwright and Bates Properties were fined a total of $62,000 last year for violations that included not ensuring enough properly trained crew members were aboard the Ingenika.

The Transportation Safety Board initially completed a brief probe of the sinking but after a 10,000-name petition was submitted by Pearson's widow, the case was expanded to a Class 3 investigation, meaning it "may have significant consequences that attract a high level of public interest."

The board's website shows the investigation is now in the report phase, but a release date has not yet been scheduled.

Family members of the victims also want the Ingenika to be raised from the bottom of the Gardner Canal on B.C.'s central coast, in part because the tug sank with 3,500 litres of diesel fuel aboard, but also because they believe the wreckage could indicate possible malfunctions, deficiencies or instability.

Transport Canada has said it would support the recovery, if directed by the safety board, but warned the tug lies at a depth that could complicate the effort.

MORE National ARTICLES

Pandemic, social media at play in teen crimes

Pandemic, social media at play in teen crimes
Police said this week that a group of up to 10 teen girls allegedly assaulted several people at random at downtown Toronto subway stations on Dec. 17. Investigators have not confirmed whether the group is the same one that allegedly stabbed a homeless man who later died in hospital – those teens congregated after meeting on social media.

Pandemic, social media at play in teen crimes

B.C. announces $500 million renter protection fund

B.C. announces $500 million renter protection fund
Premier David Eby says the fund will allow non-profit groups to buy older buildings and protect renters from property speculators. Eby says in B.C. and across Canada older rental buildings are being purchased by property speculators and large corporations that redevelop the housing, evict the current tenants and either increase the rent or sell the units.    

B.C. announces $500 million renter protection fund

Canfor to close pulp line in Prince George, B.C.

Canfor to close pulp line in Prince George, B.C.
The shut down will result in a reduction of 280,000 tonnes of market kraft pulp annually. Canfor says the decision to close the pulp line at the Prince George mill came after an "extensive analysis" of its operations and the long-term supply of fibre in the area.

Canfor to close pulp line in Prince George, B.C.

3 Surrey homicide victims identified

3 Surrey homicide victims identified
On January 9, 2023, shortly after noon, Surrey RCMP attended a residence in the 15600-block of 112 Avenue. Upon arrival, officers discovered three deceased adults inside the home. The IHIT says the bodies of 56-year-old Xiao Yan Zhen, 58 year-old Li Li and their 24-year-old son, Daniel Li, were in the home.      

3 Surrey homicide victims identified

Storm lashes B.C. south coast with rain, wind

Storm lashes B.C. south coast with rain, wind
Rain and wind warnings cover much of Vancouver Island and the inner south coast as the remnants of a storm that brought flooding to California now hammers southern B.C. Environment Canada estimates total rainfall of 50 to 100 millimetres before conditions ease Friday.

Storm lashes B.C. south coast with rain, wind

New Westminster Police on the lookout for a blue Pontiac Sunfire after man brutally assaulted

New Westminster Police on the lookout for a blue Pontiac Sunfire after man brutally assaulted
The New Westminster Police Department Major Crime Unit has learned the victim was assaulted by someone who was with two other people at the time of the assault. After the assault, the group left the area in a vehicle, and investigators are hoping by sharing video of this vehicle, a suspect will be identified.

New Westminster Police on the lookout for a blue Pontiac Sunfire after man brutally assaulted