| The Transportation Safety Board of Canada reports that "On 07/08/1999 The tug Jose Narvaez was outbound from Vancouver harbour, at night, towing the coal-laden barge Texada B.C. on a 274 m cable towline. The operator of the pleasure craft Sunboy did not realize that they were approaching a tug/tow combination and passed between the tug and the barge. The propellers of the Sunboy became fouled in the towline, and the pleasure craft was struck by the on-coming barge, and capsized. As a result, some people were thrown into the water and others were trapped within the vessel's enclosed spaces. Of the 14 people who had been on board the Sunboy, nine were rescued and survived, four drowned and one remains missing and is presumed drowned. " "The Jose Narvaez is a single screw, steel-hulled tug. The weather deck is fitted with an enclosed deck-house forward of a main working deck. Atop the deckhouse is the boat deck with an enclosed wheelhouse with centreline helm, and windows providing an unrestricted view ahead but a restricted view astern. At the exterior, after end of the boat deck is a second set of clutch controls, an emergency towing winch release and a 150,000 candela searchlight. The vessel's service speed is approximately 7.5 knots. The vessel is equipped with 790 m of 45 mm diameter steel wire towline on a single drum towing winch. The winch has one local and two remote emergency release stations." |
