What could cause a 60ft passenger boat to sink quickly = 5 drowned

[Capt Popeye]

So why or what could have caused a passenger boat to sink quickly, resulting in loss of life for 5 passengers?

Was it a collision with a Whale?
Did it hit a submerged rock?
System failure?
Bad navigation?
Unlucky?
Negligence?

Who knows, or even has any real thoughts or observations on the matter!

So we should await the results or the comments from the accident investigators in Canada, with the only reports allegedly from survivors being interviewed.

 

[septiclecky]

So why or what could have caused a passenger boat to sink quickly, resulting in loss of life for 5 passengers?

Was it a collision with a Whale?
Did it hit a submerged rock?
System failure?
Bad navigation?
Unlucky?
Negligence?

Who knows, or even has any real thoughts or observations on the matter!

So we should await the results or the comments from the accident investigators in Canada, with the only reports allegedly from survivors being interviewed.

Filling with water?

 

[alant]

So why or what could have caused a passenger boat to sink quickly, resulting in loss of life for 5 passengers?

Was it a collision with a Whale?
Did it hit a submerged rock?
System failure?
Bad navigation?
Unlucky?
Negligence?

Who knows, or even has any real thoughts or observations on the matter!

So we should await the results or the comments from the accident investigators in Canada, with the only reports allegedly from survivors being interviewed.

Witness said a rogue wave!

 

[Mariner69]

Slow flood, free surface effect leading to final loss by capsize.

 

[Lloydroberts]

Witness said a rogue wave!

It's all guesstimates at the moment but the witness account I saw on the news was the same as above and someone added "coupled with shallow water"

 

[Capt Popeye]

Filling with water?

Humm, read a report that suggested that the boat was noticed to be taking water a couple of hours before the incident :-(

 

[Capt Popeye]

Slow flood, free surface effect leading to final loss by capsize.

Humm, if the report is correct that it was noticed that water was noticed as entering the boat earlier, then, just perhaps the comment above seems quite likely, at the mo, especially if, as reported by a passenger, it was a larger wave.

 

[sailorman]

It has a very shallow Vee to nearly flat bottom so if pax are all one side + any free flow effect :disgust:

 

[oldgit]

Not the first time this company has had fatalities.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

This is the boat

Looks like the upper pilot house and covered aft deck were retrofitted. So if they have relatively flat bottomed hulls, capsize due to a higher than normal wave beam on might just be the cause

 

[alant]

Not the first time this company has had fatalities.

Yes, but 20 yrs past, so hardly valid.

 

[Portofino]

Can,t see any scuppers -top heavey too
Pic in paper indeed flat bottom .Looks like a bodged up river / lake type of boat -taken into some "real" sea state .
I sense a law suite coming on if there's a wealthy relative ?

 

[Capt Popeye]

This is the boat

Looks like the upper pilot house and covered aft deck were retrofitted. So if they have relatively flat bottomed hulls, capsize due to a higher than normal wave beam on might just be the cause

Mmm, think that this is the vessel in question, recollect seeing her plying for hire a few years ago, we went on a more orthodox craft for our Whale Watch, the local waters seemed to be quite sheltered at the time though.
Tis quite a busy time in that part of Canada, on Victoria Island, for Whale Watching, hum, glad we did not sail in that one, upon reflection.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Looks like stability might have been an issue

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34654795

 

[oceanfroggie]

Looks like stability might have been an issue

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34654795

One of the problems when these boats are heavily loaded is the pax tend to move quickly to one side to the other when a whale or dolphin is spotted causing a rapid change in list. I've seen this with the smaller Dolphin watch boats in Ireland. In the photo below the boats are lightly loaded and conditions flat calm, but I've seen similar vessels packed and listing heavily on the side the pax load has moved to.

The list is slight but visible - imagine the amount of list with a full pax load.

On a heavily loaded boat the impact of a large wave beam on could be significant with a lopsided pax load.

 

[longjohnsilver]

I also wonder why the 5 that died were all on the top deck, whereas it seems that all those inside survived. I would have expected the opposite to be the case.

 

[ProDave]

I also wonder why the 5 that died were all on the top deck, whereas it seems that all those inside survived. I would have expected the opposite to be the case.

Physical injury as the boat capsized that prevented them from swimming until they could be recovered?

 

[BruceK]

a 60 foot boat rolling on top of you? Dressed thickly against the Canadanian autumn chill, no life jackets? Nothing to hold on to on an up turned 60 foot hull? Hypothermia, cold, cramp, waterlogged clothing? I don't struggle to see why they died.

 

[curiouskb]

Witness said a rogue wave!

Newspaper report says it was a calm and sunny day.

 

[Cheery]

I ahve experienced similar listing problems while turtle watching in Zakynthos. Announcement over PA about 2 turtles mating on a certain side. Cue everyone rushing over to see them. I, on the other hand saw the obvious problem and stayed holding the rail on the opposite side along with my family. It really was a big list and I'm surprised it didn't go over. Very scary let me tell you.