http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-220793-...ll-missing.htmlThree safe, one still missing Tignish crab boat goes down in Gulf of St. Lawrence
Article online since June 9th 2008, 8:19 Three safe, one still missing
Tignish crab boat goes down in Gulf of St. Lawrence
By Eric McCarthy
FOR THE SOU’WESTER
A Prince Edward Island fishing vessel had just filled its 2008 snow crab quota and was steaming towards Tignish early Sunday morning, June 8, when something went dreadfully wrong.
The four-member crew scrambled into a life raft after their boat, Toys for Big Boys, started taking on water. Three members of the crew were subsequently rescued by fishers from the Magdalene Islands; a fourth is still missing.
Two Coast Guard vessels, as well as a Cormorant helicopter and a Hercules aircraft from CFB Greenwood in Nova Scotia, searched for the missing man throughout the day Sunday.
The crab boat is owned by Casey Gavin of Seacow Pond. He was one of the fishermen rescued. The Coast Guard reported three uninjured men were taken ashore to Iles de la Madeleine.
“It’s not a nice place,” Stafford Gavin of Seacow Pond said Sunday of the co-ordinates where his nephew’s boat went down in 200 feet of water, about 55 miles off Tignish and 30 miles west of the Iles de la Madeleine.
Describing the sinking as it was told to him, Stafford Gavin said all four men apparently made it into a life raft after the boat started taking on water.
“But the boat tipped over right on top of the raft,” he said.
When the fiberglass boat overturned, Gavin said one-half of its wooden deck broke free and three of the men were able to cling to it.
They hung on until a life raft floated up from their boat, an hour-and-a-half to two hours later.
Once back in the life raft the crew was able to set off distress flares, which were seen by an Iles de la Madeleine fishing crew.
A search for the vessel was already underway as the sinking had activated an emergency distress beacon. The Coast Guard had alerted the boat owner’s family around 2:10 a.m., Gavin said.
(Eric McCarthy is a journalist with Transcontinental Media’s Journal Pioneer, which is a contributor to the Sou’Wester.)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-isl...oat-search.htmlSearch for Island crab fisherman endsSinking vessel 'was pulling us under,' says captain
Last Updated: Monday, June 9, 2008 | 8:20 PM ATThe captain of a crab boat that sank off the northeast coast of Prince Edward Island over the weekend described the harrowing ordeal of calling out for a crew member feared lost at sea.
So far, there's no indication why the 12-metre crab boat from North Cape sank about halfway between the Îles de la Madeleine and P.E.I.
The boat's captain Casey Gavin told CBC News on Monday that Ellsworth was driving the boat while he and the two other crew members slept below deck.
'The boat was on top of us'
He said Ellsworth realized they were in trouble around midnight. By then, the stern was already under water, the captain said. All four of them jumped into the life raft, but things went from bad to worse.
"We were in the life raft and the boat was on top of us," Gavin said. "It was pulling us under."
He said they noticed the boat's deck was floating and swam back to it.
"We got back on top of it and three of us got back and we yelled for Danny," Gavin said. "He never responded. He never yelled. We never heard nothing of him."
Gavin and two other fishermen on board — Kyle Costain and Brian DesRoches — waited in the cold and fog for several hours until they were rescued by the crew of a vessel fishing nearby. However, Ellsworth could not be found.
Two coast guard vessels, as well as a Cormorant helicopter and a Hercules aircraft involved in the search, were ordered back to base around 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
A spokeswoman for the Canadian Coast Guard told reporters that the search would not resume without evidence that could pinpoint the missing man's location.
Nathalie Letendre added that many other vessels also spent hours looking for the lost sailor, including nearby fishing boats, before the search was suspended with the agreement of his family.
The incident is under investigation, but Gavin said he isn't sure whether investigators will ever be able to determine what caused the boat to sink.
"You can speculate a lot of things, but nobody will ever know. We were on the boat and we don't know, so anybody else, it's really just guessing," he said.
The three survivors were expected to arrive home Monday.
http://www.amherstdaily.com/index.cfm?sid=142349&sc=508Coast guard calls off search for missing fisherman in Gulf of St. Lawrence
The Canadian PressLast updated at 11:04 PM on 09/06/08 THE CANADIAN PRESS
CHARLOTTETOWN — The search for a crab fisherman missing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has been called off.
Coast guard spokeswoman Nathalie Letendre said the two coast guard vessels looking for the man ended their search on Sunday night, with the agreement of the man’s family.
A spokesman for the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax said that the Cormorant helicopter and Hercules aircraft dispatched to find the man also called off their search Sunday evening.
Maj. Mario Couture said searchers covered more than 1,000 square kilometres but found no sign of the missing man and the military has no plans to resume the search.
Letendre said the coast guard would only re-start its efforts on Monday if new evidence the man can be found is brought forward.
The Prince Edward Island man went missing after a fishing vessel sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, forcing three others to scramble into life-rafts.
It was unclear what caused the 12-metre vessel, the Toys for Big Boys, to sink overnight Saturday between Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Que., and P.E.I.
The four men, all from P.E.I., were crab fishing from the Charlottetown-registered vessel at the time.
Letendre, who is based in Quebec City, said three of the men were rescued by another fishing boat after jumping into a life-raft.
‘‘They were shocked, but they have no injuries,’’ she said, adding the men were taken to Iles-de-la-Madeleine.
They are expected to return home on Monday.
Police have not released the names of any of the men on the boat, but the Charlottetown Guardian identified the missing man as Danny Ellsworth of Tignish.
Joyce-Ann Gavin has only spoken to her husband Casey, who owned the boat, for a few minutes since she heard the news. She said he has no idea what happened.
‘‘He was pretty shook up,’’ she told the Charlottetown Guardian.
While Casey is safe, it’s still difficult knowing someone may not be, she said.
‘‘Our hearts are just broken. It’s one of our men.’’
People in the community can only hope for the best, she said.
‘‘There’s nothing we can do, just hope and pray.’’
Little is known about the circumstances surrounding the incident, Letendre said.
‘‘We don’t know at the present time what’s the cause of the incident.’’
http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-221202-...ard-worker.htmlMissing fisherman described as "easy-going, a hard worker"
For Danny Ellsworth's family the hardest part is not knowing Article online since June 10th 2008, 12:44 Danny Ellsworth Missing fisherman described as "easy-going, a hard worker"
For Danny Ellsworth's family the hardest part is not knowing
By Lori A. Mayne
FOR THE SOU’WESTER
For the Ellsworth family, the hardest part is not knowing. And not having a son and brother to mourn.
Danny Ellsworth, 26, of Tignish, P.E.I. went missing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence early Sunday, June 8. He’d been part of a crew on a crab boat from Myrick’s Shore near Tignish. The vessel started taking on water as it headed home.
“My family is hanging in there,” said Danny’s brother Darrell on Monday. “Just wishing and hoping I guess you would call it.”
The vessel sank between P.E.I. and Iles de la Madeleine. Owner Casey Gavin of Seacow Pond and two other crew members were rescued and taken to Iles de la Madeleine.
The Ellsworth family understands the four men made it to the life raft but then the boat tipped onto the raft and Ellsworth went missing.
“I know my mom has very strong hope,” Darrell said.
Danny is the baby of Helen Ellsworth’s two boys.
The family explained if Danny doesn’t return home to be with them, his mother would at least want him returned home to rest.
The Coast Guard called off their search late Sunday night.
Sgt. Jamie George, with the Prince District RCMP, said RCMP in Quebec would head up a missing person’s investigation with the help of the West Prince detachment. While he couldn’t speak for Quebec, Sgt. George didn’t expect a further search. “It would be very difficult to do a recovery operation in that area.”
Ellsworth’s family describes Danny as easy-going, full of life, a hard worker, a proud godfather and soon-to be uncle. He’s worked in fishing from everything from lobster to crab and mackerel and herring.
“Pretty much anything that’s on the go up in the Tignish area as far as fishing wise, he’s probably done at least once,” said Darrell, who lives in Summerside.
The Ellsworth family says friends Lloyd Gavin – a fisherman who has since passed away – and his wife Florence sparked Danny’s interest in fishing. They lived on nearby Ascension Road when Danny would have lived on Palmer Road.
Darrell further credited the couple for sparking his brother’s interest in horses. Danny Ellsworth shares a hobby farm with a friend in Tignish.
Meanwhile, the three rescued men remained on Iles de la Madeleine on Monday.
They were expected home Tuesday.
“I’m sure they’re very shaken up,” said Joyce-Ann Gavin, the wife Casey Gavin, one of the rescued men. “We’re just glad they’re coming home and we’re glad to see them.”
She and her mother-in-law visited the Ellsworth family.
“It’s an awful tragedy,” Gavin said. “If it was us today and Casey wasn’t coming home, I’d want somebody to come and see me.”
(Lori A. Mayne is a journalist with Transcontinental Media’s Journal Pioneer, which is a contributor to the Sou’Wester.)
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid...8&comments=viewLast updated at 12:12 AM on 11/06/08
Crew members of sunken crab boat return home after harrowing experience NANCY WILLIS
The Guardian
SOURIS — The remaining crew members of the Prince Edward Island crab boat that sank in the waters between Prince Edward Island and the Iles de la Madeleine early Sunday morning arrived back home Tuesday.
First mate Kyle Costain of Elmsdale was visibly shaken as he walked off the Iles de la Madeleine ferry in Souris and into the arms of family and friends.
Costain was part of the harrowing experience that resulted in the loss of his fellow crewman Danny Ellsworth of Tignish. Ellsworth was at the wheel of the 12-metre vessel when it went down shortly after midnight on Sunday.
Costain, boat owner Casey Gavin and another crew member, Brian DesRoches, were asleep below deck when the boat began to sink.
The men had barely time to get into a life raft and had no opportunity to grab life preservers or flotation suits.
As they got into the raft, the crab boat tipped over and started sucking the life raft down, throwing them back in the water.
All but Ellsworth were able to get back into the raft.
“It happened so fast, we don’t know what went wrong or what happened,” Costain said in a brief interview here after he and the other two men arrived back on P.E.I.
“We don’t know if a rope was around his (Ellsworth’s) leg and pulled him down with the boat, or if it landed on top of him and forced him down underneath it, we just don’t know.”
The search for Ellsworth was called off by the Canadian Coast Guard late Sunday night.
Police say the waters in which the boat sank are very deep and a recovery operation would be extremely difficult.
11/06/08
http://peicanada.com/blogs/west_prince_gra...ch-resumed.aspxFamily wants Coast Guard search resumed By Jean Kenny
jean.kenny@westprince.com
Helen Ellsworth and her family are mourning the loss of her son, Danny Ellsworth who died tragically after the boat on which he was a crew member sank off Isles de la Madeleine.
Now they can do little but wait for answers they fear may never come. While trying to come to terms with the tragic event, they’re upset that up until now no efforts have been made to recover his body.
“We know he’s gone by now, but we just want him brought home,” said his uncle, Leo Ellsworth. “My sister says, please, just bring him home.”
As they sit around the family home where Danny grew up there’s heartache, disbelief and anger. “We don’t understand why the search was ended so quickly. Why didn’t the divers go down to get the body?”
The 26-year-old Tignish native was aboard the fishing vessel Toys For Big Boys, owned by Casey Gavin of Seacow Pond. The boat had just finished fishing its 2008 snow crab quota and was heading for home when it went down approximately 30 miles west of the Isles de la Madeleine, early Sunday morning.
Three crew members were rescued and were on their way home to Tignish, Tuesday. All the Ellsworth’s could do was hope and pray government officials will give the Coast Guard permission to begin recovery efforts to locate the body of the missing man.
“He’s not just our nephew,” explained Leo. “He grew up here in the family home. He was raised by his mom, a single parent, his grandparents and all of us. He was more to us than just a nephew. He was like our brother.”
As Leo and his wife Michelle, and brother Joey try to comprehend what has happened they wonder how they can ever put their nephew to rest unless his body is recovered. Danny’s bother, Darrell Ellsworth and his wife Jody are expecting their first baby in a few weeks. They can barely believe Danny will not be there for the big event.
Cecil Flowers and Danny have been close friends. “We’ve been cruising around for the past 10 years.” For the past six or seven years they owned animals together and recently formed a partnership and purchased the Tignish Homestead from Elizabeth Cran.
“I can’t believe they didn’t do more of a search. If he had been the captain of the boat would there have been more of an effort to recover the body?”
Looking over the hundreds of pictures they’ve accumulated over the years it’s clear. Danny loved animals, especially his horses. “He loved working on the farm and fishing. He also loved family gatherings and food,” recalled his uncles.
Remembering things that made their nephew such a special person they recall how important he took the role of Godfather for his niece. He was also true and loyal to his close friends and will be especially missed by Claude Handrahan.
“He was a survivor who would never give up without a fight,” said Joey. “He was an expert swimmer and we know that he would have tried his best to survive.”
“We’re not OK,” said Leo. “We want something done. We want his body brought home so we will have a place to mourn and go to remember him. That’s important.”
The family says they will continue to press government officials to have the remains of their loved one recovered and brought home.
Cecil will now have to contend with the small farm on his own but says his friend will always remain on the farm with him in spirit. “He’s at the farm with me. I know he’s there.”
Egmont MP Joe McGuire said he had spoken to Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn about the issue Tuesday. The Minister said he would consult with Defense Minister Peter MacKay.
Later in the day, during Question Period in the House of Commons Mr McGuire made a direct plea to Fisheries Minister Hearn to intervene on behalf of the Ellsworths.
In questioning the Minister he told the House; “The search for his body by the Coast Guard was called off the same day. This is totally unsatisfactory to both the family and the community that the Coast Guard serves. The family is deeply disappointed and want the search for Danny renewed.
“Will the Minister immediately order the Coast Guard back on the water and continue the search for Danny Ellsworth?”
Minister Hearn said his thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time. He said the vessel had gone down in a clearly identified area, which the Coast Guard searched. Since the vessel sank in such an area the search was called off earlier than in other cases.
He said DFO is looking to see if there is anything that can be done to try and alleviate the concerns of the family.
Meanwhile the Ellsworths contend that as a Canadian citizens, Danny deserves to have every possible attempt made to recover his body for burial.
Published Wednesday, June 11, 2008 9:00 AM by admin
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-isl...ch-resumes.htmlSearch resumes for crab fishermanLast Updated: Thursday, June 12, 2008 | 7:12 AM ATCBC News
The Canadian Coast Guard will return to the waters north of P.E.I. Thursday to resume the search for Danny Ellsworth, presumed drowned after his crab boat went down Sunday near Îles de la Madeleine.
The 26-year-old Tignish man was one of four on the Toys for Big Boys when it began to sink early Sunday morning. His three crewmates survived. No one on board was wearing a life jacket. The search for Ellsworth was called off around 11 p.m. Sunday.
"It's obviously the most difficult decision that ever has to be made by our joint rescue teams," Steve Outhouse, director of communications for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, told CBC News Wednesday.
"They look at a number of different factors. They look at the conditions at sea, temperature, length of time: all those things are taken into consideration. So that was a call that made by the people on the scene at that point in time."
The new search comes at the request of Ellsworth's family. How many vessels will be involved in the search and how long it will go on are still being determined.
http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-222120-...edy-at-sea.htmlCaptain describes tragedy at sea Article online since June 12nd 2008, 9:52 By Eric McCarthy
FOR THE SOU’WESTER
Everything happened so quickly.
Recovering at home in Seacow Pond, P.E.I. on Wednesday, Casey Gavin recalled how a routine fishing trip suddenly turned tragic early Sunday morning.
Gavin, the owner of the ill-fated Toys for Big Boys, and two of his crewmembers had turned in for the night while Danny Ellsworth took charge of sailing the boat home to Tignish.
“I heard Danny saying, ‘You’d better get up. Something’s wrong.’”
“I looked to the stern of the boat. It was already under water.”
Gavin yelled to crewmembers Kyle Costain and Brian DesRoches to get up. “She’s going down,” he warned.
“I took the life raft off the cab of the boat. I threw it down and she blew up. The four of us got into her.”
The stern of the fibreglass boat was now submerged and the water pressure caused the wooden deck to break free.
The bow was out of the water 20 feet and then went straight down.
“From the time I got up and the four of us were in the life raft was less than a minute and the boat was gone,” Gavin related. “That’s how fast she went.”
The crew of four was in a life raft, but they weren’t safe. The weight of the ropes now sinking to the bottom caused the deck to flip over in slow motion, Gavin said.
“We were pushing with all we were worth,” but they couldn’t get out of its way.
The deck flipped over on top of their small craft, trapping the crew beneath it. Three of them were able to fight their way clear, but Ellsworth did not resurface.
There were ropes floating all around them, and they had to fight through. Gavin, a non-swimmer, was the first to make it back to the deck and helped Costain onto it.
They cut buoys free and threw them to DesRoches until he was able to grab onto one and get to the deck.
They called and called to Ellsworth but got no response.
For two hours, Gavin estimates, the three men braced themselves on the deck, the waves sometimes breaking over them. Pieces of deck kept breaking off and, as they did, their section of deck sank deeper, until they were neck-deep in water.
They had gathered up buoys and tied them together, figuring they’d tie themselves to them if their platform sank from beneath them.
The men had become aware their raft was beneath the platform and, when another piece broke away the raft resurfaced, upside down. It took all their strength to right it and climb inside.
Only after hearing a fishing boat in the distance did they set off emergency flares, preferring not to waste them in the fog.
The cause of the boat sinking has not been determined, but Gavin said Coast Guard personnel indicated a log was seen in the area, which left him wondering if that may have torn a hole in the side of his boat.
(Eric McCarthy is a journalist with Transcontinental Media’s Journal Pioneer, which is a contributor to the Sou’Wester.)
http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?oid=3667&pid=1639DEATHS Deaths for Tuesday, June 17, 2008 ELLSWORTH
As the result of a boating incident on June 8, 2008, the life of Danny Ellsworth, 26 years, was tragically taken. He was the dear son of Helen Ellsworth (Wayne LeClair) Tignish, and special brother to Darrell (Jody) Ellsworth, Summerside. He is also survived by aunts and uncles Bessie (Peter) Ellsworth, Leo (Michelle) Ellsworth, Peter (Cathy) Ellsworth, Josie (Gordie) Gaudet and Joey (Tracy) Ellsworth, as well as many special cousins, Godchild Bailey Gaudet and special friends Claude Handrahan and Cecil Flowers. Predeceased by grandparents Chester and Alma Ellsworth and uncles Earl and Chessie Ellsworth and Robert Ellsworth as an infant. Family to accept visitation on Thursday, June 19, 2008, from 7 to 9 p.m. at St. Simon, St. Jude Church, Tignish. Funeral Service to be held on Friday, June 20, 2008, at 4 p.m. at St. Simon, St. Jude Church, Tignish.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=157540&sc=98Investigation into crab boat sinking finds serious flaw in conversion Last updated at 9:05 PM on 29/07/08 DOUG GALLANT
The Guardian
Officials of the National Transportation Safety Board investigating the fatal sinking of a fishing vessel in the Gulf of St. Lawrence last month have detected what could be a serious flaw in the way some lobster boats are converted for use in the crab fishery.
The flaw was discovered during the board's investigation into the June 7 sinking of the vessel Toys for Big Boys which went down after taking on a lot of water.
Although three crew members were rescued, Island fisherman Danny Ellsworth lost his life during that incident.
The men who escaped included the boat's owner, Casey Gavin, along with crew members Kyle Costain and Brian DesRoches.
Capt. Pierre Murray, manager of regional operations for the Transportation Safety Board, said the board has not yet completed its investigation into the sinking but felt it was necessary to communicate their concerns about the conversion process utilized on many such boats to Transport Canada without further delay.
Those concerns have been outlined in a marine safety information letter directed to William Nash, director general of marine safety for Transport Canada in Ottawa, by Marcel Ayeko, the board's acting director of marine investigations.
In that letter Ayeko said investigators have not definitely determined how Toys For Big Boys took on so much water but observed that that vessel and many similar vessels 40 feet in length and greater have undergone a similar conversion process.
The conversion process involves the construction of a second deck over the gunwale and erecting bulwarks at the deck edge, thereby creating what is termed a 'tween deck' space for added cargo and storage.
"Many of these modifications are not approved or inspected by Transport Canada," Ayeko states in the letter. "Although such modifications create a tween deck space for added cargo and storage such spaces are not always watertight or adequately subdivided. They are therefore subject to flooding and accumulation of water."
Ayeko goes on to say that because these spaces are beneath modified decks the extent of flooding and water accumulation is not readily detectable by the crew.
He warns that without adequate watertight integrity defences to prevent the accumulation of water or alarms to alert the crew, the water buildup in the tween deck may go undetected, causing the vessel to lose stability and/or reserve buoyancy, which in turn can lead to the loss of the vessel and its crew.
The board proposes that Transport Canada take whatever measures it considers necessary to address these concerns.
Murray says it would be in the best interests of those fishermen who've converted their vessels in this manner to have their modifications inspected by Transport Canada.
Transport Canada officials have not yet responded to the safety information letter.
Murray said it is not uncommon for the board to send out such letters before a final report has been prepared.
"Whenever we discover there is room for improvement in the way things are done we contact the agent of change, in this case Transport Canada, and let them know. We don't wait for the report to become public we send the letter right away. This is one of those cases."
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story...estigation.htmlProbe into fatal sinking reveals serious concernsLast Updated: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 | 10:17 AM AT CBC News
An investigation into the fatal sinking of a crab boat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in June by the Transportation Safety Board has revealed serious problems with how the boats are converted for crab fishing.
Toys for Big Boys, a lobster boat converted for the crab fishery, sank on June 7 about halfway between the Îles de la Madeleine and P.E.I. Three of the crew survived, but P.E.I. fisherman Danny Ellsworth died.
"There was no time for nothing. It was less than a minute when she sank," said Casey Gavin, the boat's captain, in the days after the sinking.
Gavin said then he had no idea why the boat went down, and that nobody would ever know.
Having completed its investigation, the Transportation Safety Board agrees. But while it could not confirm a cause, the investigation did reveal serious problems with the way Toys for Big Boys, and many other boats like it, was converted.
The boats are altered for the crab fishery by building an extra deck over the existing deck to allow for more storage. That, the board says, could be dangerous.
"The major problem is that this space that is now being created, you could call it like a fish hold or a storage space for fish, is not monitored," Pierre Murray, manager of regional operations with the Transportation Safety Board, told CBC News Monday.
"If water accumulates in that space nobody will know about it until it's too late."
The board says fishermen could avoid a similar tragedy by making sure all modifications are inspected by Transport Canada, to which the board has passed on its concerns.
This is the first time the Transportation Safety Board has looked at potential problems that could be caused by converting lobster boats into crab vessels.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=157613&sc=98Federal agency rushes off letter about flaws in crab boat design Last updated at 12:32 AM on 30/07/08 DOUG GALLANT
The Guardian
Officials of the National Transportation Safety Board investigating the fatal sinking of a fishing vessel in the Gulf of St. Lawrence last month have detected what could be a serious flaw in the way some lobster boats are converted for use in the crab fishery.
The flaw was discovered during the board’s investigation into the June 7 sinking of the vessel Toys for Big Boys which went down after taking on a lot of water.
Although three crew members were rescued, Island fisherman Danny Ellsworth lost his life in the incident.
The men who escaped included the boat’s owner, Casey Gavin, along with crew members Kyle Costain and Brian DesRoches.
Capt. Pierre Murray, manager of regional operations for the Transportation Safety Board, said the board has not yet completed its investigation into the sinking, but felt it was necessary to communicate their concerns about the conversion process utilized on many such boats to Transport Canada without further delay.
Those concerns have been outlined in a marine safety information letter directed to William Nash, director general of marine safety for Transport Canada in Ottawa, by Marcel Ayeko, the board’s acting director of marine investigations.
In that letter, Ayeko said investigators have not definitely determined how Toys For Big Boys took on so much water but observed that that vessel and many similar vessels 40 feet in length and greater have undergone a similar conversion
process.
The conversion process involves the construction of a second deck over the gunwale and erecting bulwarks at the deck edge, thereby creating what is termed a ‘tween deck’ space for added cargo and storage.
“Many of these modifications are not approved or inspected by Transport Canada,’’ Ayeko states in the letter.
“Although such modifications create a ’tween deck space for added cargo and storage, such spaces are not always watertight or adequately subdivided. They are therefore subject to flooding and accumulation of water.’’
Ayeko goes on to say that because these spaces are beneath modified decks, the extent of flooding and water accumulation is not readily detectable by the crew.
He warns that without adequate watertight integrity defences to prevent the accumulation of water or alarms to alert the crew, the water buildup in the ’tween deck may go undetected, causing the vessel to lose stability and/or reserve buoyancy, which in turn can lead to the loss of the vessel and its crew.
The board proposes that Transport Canada take whatever measures it considers necessary to address these concerns.
Murray says it would be in the best interests of those fishermen who’ve converted their vessels in this manner to have their modifications inspected by Transport Canada.
Transport Canada officials have not yet responded to the safety information letter.
Murray said it is not uncommon for the board to send out such letters before a final report has been prepared.
“Whenever we discover there is room for improvement in the way things are done we contact the agent of change, in this case Transport Canada, and let them know. We don’t wait for the report to become public we send the letter right away. This is one of those cases.’’
