Container Ship Collides With Pleasure Boat In English Bay, Probe Launched

A collision between a container ship and a pleasure craft in Vancouver’s English Bay late Sunday morning has prompted the deployment of a team of federal investigators to the scene.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) confirmed that the incident involved the container ship Ever Sigma and occurred at around 11:20 a.m., southeast of Lighthouse Park near the southern tip of West Vancouver.

According to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), its marine unit received an emergency alert about the crash at approximately 11:30 a.m.

A spokesperson for the VPD said the pleasure craft began taking on water following the impact. Two people on board were rescued by a police patrol vessel and brought safely ashore.

The damaged vessel was subsequently towed to Eagle Harbour for haul-out after emergency teams carried out dewatering and stabilisation operations, as reported by a TSB spokesperson.

In a notice of deployment, the TSB said that investigators have been sent to the Port of Vancouver to examine the circumstances surrounding the collision.

The Port of Vancouver stated on social media that there were no injuries and that the incident had no impact on port operations.

The VPD has since handed over the investigation to the Transportation Safety Board, which will determine the cause of the collision.

References: ctvnews, vancouversun