Report: Sunken Ferry Crew Unfamiliar with Equipment

According to sources, a report says crew of sunken ferry may have been unfamiliar with equipment. A suggestion is being made that bridge crew on the Queen of the North were unfamiliar with newly installed steering equipment. A preliminary finding into the ferry sinking also says the crew was so unacquainted with the new electronic equipment's night settings that they turned off a monitor displaying their course. In a letter to B.C. Ferries CEO David Hahn a Safety Board Investigator said that action negated the benefits of the real-time display of the vessel's track and position vis-à-vis the planned courses and course alterations.

In the meantime, an order has gone out that all ship's officers who stand a navigational watch must sign documentation that they are sufficiently familiar with bridge equipment. Source: CKNW