B.C.'s transportation minister said he's frustrated and disappointed that investigators were unable to pinpoint the cause of the 2006 sinking of the Queen of the North ferry.

Like BC Ferries' internal investigations, the report released Wednesday by the Transportation Safety Board leaves the same questions unanswered, said Kevin Falcon.

The Transportation Safety Board issued a video simulation along with its report into the sinking of the Queen of the North.
(TSB)

"Basically all we know after all of these inquiries is the fact there's 14 minutes of unexplained activity that caused two people not to be paying attention and a ferry to sink and I'm disappointed we don't know the answers to that," said the minister.

The two officers who were on the bridge that night have a duty to come forward and say exactly what happened during those 14 minutes, said Falcon.

The president of BC Ferries agreed that the two-year investigation by the Transportation Safety Board into the sinking of the Queen of the North reached the same conclusion as BC Ferries' own internal investigation.

"BC Ferries welcomes the public release of the TSB report and its conclusions, which are consistent with our own investigation released in March of 2007," said BC Ferries president David Hahn.

But Hahn was also critical of the report's failure to determine in more detail what happened on the bridge on the night of March 22, 2006.

"It is unfortunate that after two years of investigation, the TSB was unable to determine what occurred on the bridge in the final 14 minutes leading up to the vessel striking Gil Island," stated Hahn.

Since the sinking, BC Ferries has taken significant safety actions, such as installing voice-data recorders on 17 vessels, new training for employees, revamped drug and alcohol policies, more navigational officers on watch, and more accurate passenger manifests, said Hahn.

4th Officer issues apology

Meanwhile, the fourth officer who was in charge of the ill-fated Queen of the North at the time of the crash has also issued a statement in response to the report, apologizing to those affected by the sinking of the vessel.

The statement by Karl Lilgert was issued by the B.C. Ferry and Marine Worker's Union on his behalf.

"I regret this tragic accident occurred and its impact on all involved.

"I continue to grieve for the missing persons and would with all my heart exchange my life for theirs."

Lilgert's letter goes on to apologize to the children and families of the two missing passengers, to the passengers who survived, to his shipmates, to the union, to BC Ferries, and to his own family for the trauma and loss.

He also thanks the citizens of Hartley Bay for coming to the rescue of the passengers and crew on the night of the crash.

Following the crash, 99 of the 101 passengers and crew aboard the ferry managed to escape to safety on lifeboats. However, two passengers, Gerald Foisy, 46, and Shirley Rosette, 42, of 100 Mile House, B.C., are still missing and presumed dead.