Tugboat owners plead guilty to safety charges connected to fatal sinking near Kitimat, B.C.

The owners of a tugboat that sank in coastal waters south of Kitimat, B.C., causing the death of two mariners, have pleaded guilty to safety charges under the Workers Compensation Act.

Wainwright Marine Services and James Geoffrey Bates, the president of parent company Bates Properties Ltd., were each charged in February with eight counts of violating occupational health and safety provisions, according to court records. 

The charges stem from the Feb. 10, 2021, sinking of the tugboat Ingenika in the turbulent, frigid waters of the Gardner Canal. Tug captain Troy Pearson, 58, and crew member Charley Cragg, 25, died in the incident.

On Wednesday, a lawyer representing Wainwright Marine Services and Bates entered guilty pleas for some, but not all, of the charges.

Wainwright pleaded guilty to three of the eight charges against the company, and Bates pleaded guilty to one. The Crown agreed to stay the remaining charges.

The Ingenika was towing a barge toward the Rio Tinto Kemano Generating Station south of Kitimat when bad weather affected its ability to tow and maintain speed. It began taking on water and then sank, claiming the lives of Pearson and Cragg.

A third crewman, Zac Dolan, made it to a life raft and was rescued hours later.

Pearson had many years of experience on the water. He started working on fishing boats at age eight, was hired by Wainwright in 2017, and had successfully completed the same trip as master of the Ingenika approximately 22 times.

Judy Carlick-Pearson, who said she lost part of her life when her husband died, told CBC that Pearson was reluctant to leave the dock that day.

"The conditions were absolutely the worst conditions that you could possibly go out in," she said, adding that a court decision does not make much difference in her life since the loss of her love.

"Nothing will bring back Troy or Charley, so, saying that, I think it's more of a closure day than anything," she said.

Carlick-Pearson, and Cragg's mother, Genevieve Cragg, both read emotional victim impact statements to the court. There were parallels in their statements as they spoke of heart-wrenching grief and the challenges of parenting and maintaining employment in the wake of such a tragedy.

"To attach words to these unknown raw emotions is next to impossible, said Cragg. 

Her son was working his first day with Wainwright Marine and had never been on a tug before. According to an agreed statement of facts read out in court, he was not provided with any training materials before boarding the vessel.

The young mariner had worked for Fisheries and Oceans Canada and had dreams of joining the Canadian Coast Guard.

"He was my boy. A young man who was making a difference in my life and our world and was wiped out at 25 years of age on the first day of the job by corporate greed," said Cragg.

The eight charges Bates and Wainwright Marine were facing were not criminal charges. Each carries a maximum fine of $777,601.27 and/or a jail term of up to six months for a first conviction.

They include:

• Failure to maintain protective equipment and devices in good working order.
• Failure to ensure the tow abort system and immersion suits were capable of performing their functions.
• Failure to provide workers with training, instruction and supervision necessary for the job.
• Failure to ensure new workers were given training specific to the use of personal protective equipment.
• Failure to hold annual drills to ensure awareness of emergency procedures. 

An investigation by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) found the tug had no records showing it had ever been inspected in its 50 years of service  — something that's not required by Transport Canada for tugs weighing 15 gross tonnes or less.

The TSB also found the Ingenika crew had not practised using the lifesaving equipment. It said Pearson and Cragg drowned because they were weighed down by immersion suits that were only partially done up. An immersion suit that's not worn properly can take on water, restricting movement and increasing the chance of hypothermia.

Last fall, Transport Canada handed Wainwright Marine a $52,000 fine after finding that the Prince Rupert, B.C., company failed to ensure the vessel was staffed with a sufficient and competent crew, did not make sure those employed on board held certificates for their positions and jeopardized the safety of the vessel and those on board.

Bates Properties, the parent company of Wainwright Marine, was also fined $10,000 for failing to ensure the vessel met regulatory requirements.

Carlick-Pearson is calling for more assurance from Transport Canada that proper inspections are consistently carried out to ensure the safety of crews on vessels of all sizes.

"We have to be concerned about not only today's mariners but our future mariners as well," she said.