No answers yet as to why deckhand died in sinking vessel near Halifax
Preston Mulligan | CBC News | Posted: January 30, 2019 11:36 PM | Last Updated: January 30, 2019
'Where was he at the time? Was he wearing a PFD? And why wasn't he on deck with the other ones?'
Federal investigators still don't know why a 24-year-old man died aboard a sinking boat near Eastern Passage, N.S., while two others on board managed to escape to safety.
Investigators with the Transportation Safety Board have interviewed the two survivors who were aboard the Captain Jim when it began taking on water early Tuesday, but there are no clear answers as to why deckhand Max Hinch didn't make it to the life-raft with the others.
"It raises questions like, where was he at the time? Was he wearing a PFD? And why wasn't he on deck with the other ones?" said Pierre Murray, manager of regional operations for the board in Atlantic Canada.
The 13-metre, fibreglass-hulled boat was owned by RMI Marine, a marine services operation based in Eastern Passage. Hinch, who was engaged and had a four-year-old son, started working with RMI last July, according to a post on his Facebook page.
Though the Captain Jim was a Cape Islander-style lobster boat, Murray said it was never used for fishing. It sank while returning to shore after collecting fuel samples from a large tanker anchored farther out.
It's not clear why the Captain Jim began to sink. Murray said the sea was calm at the time, with winds about 20 knots and 1.5-metre waves. Officials with RMI Marine have also said they don't know why the boat went down.
The boat ran into trouble at 2 a.m. Twenty minutes later, it was underwater. During that time, two people aboard the boat managed to make it into a life-raft. They were eventually picked up by a pilot boat.
Navy divers found Hinch's body inside the sunken vessel later that morning.
Murray said the board is trying to determine why Hinch didn't make it into the life-raft.
"I've seen a lot of boats sink within seconds," he said. "So 20 minutes is a fairly good amount of time to abandon vessel."
The investigation is still in the early stages. Murray expects it could take the board more than a year to get answers.
Friends of Hinch have set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his family in Cole Harbour. The online fundraiser describes Hinch as "a wonderful and kind soul."
As of Wednesday evening, more than $6,000 had been raised.