Tag Archives: fatal sinking of F/V Chief William Saulis
In aftermath of sinking, crew member’s widow says Transport Canada reform falls short
Transport Canada will tighten inspections of fishing vessels in the aftermath of a deadly Nova Scotia sinking in 2020, but the widow of a lost crew member says the reform doesn’t go far enough to prevent future tragedies. Six crew members died on Dec. 15, 2022, when the Chief William Saulis capsized as heavy seas crashed into the rocking boat and 2,700 kilograms of unsecured scallops slid around a deck, blocking drainage. But Michelle Nickerson-Forbes, the widow of Dan Forbes, said in an interview Friday that the federal department is failing to move on what she and other families consider a root cause of repeated fishing tragedies: unstable vessels going out to sea. >click to read< 07:58
TSB report on sinking that killed 6 says fishing boat needed stability test
The report released Wednesday says the F/V Chief William Saulis should have been tested for stability, given the fact that major changes had been made to the boat by its owners. They had added a heavy, A-frame structure for scallop dragging, a protective plate to the boat’s stern, and covers to close drainage holes. On Dec. 15, 2020, the modified vessel capsized in the Bay of Fundy during a gale as it returned to its home port in Digby, N.S. All six crew on board died. The independent agency says Transport Canada inspectors during a 2017 visit didn’t tell Yarmouth Sea Products Ltd. that the modifications to the boat were stability “risk factors,” which were defined in a federal safety bulletin and questionnaire. However, the board made clear in its report and during Wednesday’s news conference that it has long urged a stricter law on stability assessments and that Transport Canada hasn’t complied. >click to read< 14:23
‘We’re not going to stop fighting’: Families of F/V Chief William Saulis crew to keep pushing for safety in fishing industry
Michelle Nickerson-Forbes had worried that the longer it took for the Transportation Safety Board to come out with its report about the December 2020 fatal sinking of the Chief William Saulis scallop vessel, that people would forget about the six-member crew whose lives were lost. Initially, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) had said the investigation and report would take up to 450 days. Instead, it took over two years. Lori Cogswell Phillips, a resident of Cambridge in the Annapolis Valley, is also never going to give up. She’s been fighting for answers on behalf of her son Aaron Cogswell and the rest of the Chief William Saulis crew for the past two-plus years. She says the TSB report – which took too long to come out – still leaves more questions unanswered than answered. Photos, >click to read< 09:51
TSB investigation into fatal sinking of F/V Chief William Saulis recommends improved safety procedure awareness
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada recommends inspections of commercial fishing vessels verify that required written safety procedures are available to crews and that they are knowledgeable of these procedures. The recommendation to the Department of Transport was issued Wednesday as part of the investigation into the fatal 2020 sinking of the scallop boat F/V Chief William Saulis near Digby, resulting in the death of one crew member. Five crew members are still classified as missing. On Dec. 15, 2020, shortly after midnight, the Chief William Saulis, with six crew members onboard, departed Chignecto Bay, N.B., to return to port in Digby. At about 5:50 a.m., the vessel’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon activated about 12 nautical miles off the coast of Digby. >click to read< 14:37
