A BC Ferry has run aground after losing power and drifting into Horseshoe Bay. It missed the dock but plowed into a jetty harbour, crushing dozens of smaller boats. As noted in the news story, it appears the ferry lost power as it was making its way into the Bay, though from the aerial shots on TV right now it appears as if the captain was able to steer it away from the main Terminal Building and run it aground to the right of that structure, thus averting a major disaster, and shutting down the terminal completely.


B.C. ferry smashes into marina
Last Updated Thu, 30 Jun 2005 14:23:37 EDT
CBC News

A BC Ferries vessel has crashed into the dock at the Horseshoe Bay terminal in West Vancouver, destroying a dozen or more vessels.

A BC Ferries spokesperson, Deborah Marshall, said the Queen of Oak Bay lost power as it approached the terminal at about 10:10 a.m. on Thursday.

"We don't have any reports of injuries at this time," Marshall told CBC Newsworld.

Witnesses said the ferry missed the terminal and was blowing its horn as it crashed into the marina, crushing 15 or 20 vessels as it plowed through.

"It kept coming and coming," Gus Tsogaf, who owns the Bay Moorings Restaurant, told CBC News. "A low speed, but it just kept coming. It just couldn't stop."

He said he could see a bunch of boats underneath the ferry.

"I've never seen anything like this, never, in the 27 years that I've been here," Tsogaf said.

"It definitely looked like it was going faster than normal when it came into the dock," said Craig Rockwell, who works at the Boathouse Restaurant.

Sean Atleo said ferry passengers were warned to brace themselves shortly before the impact.

Police and rescue crews are on the scene.

The ferry left Nanaimo for Horseshoe Bay at 8:30 a.m.

The Queen of Oak Bay was first launched in 1981. It can hold as many as 362 cars.


http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio...ry-050630.html