The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is issuing a warning after a very near miss between a pleasure boat operator and a tug pulling a barge.
The driver of the small boat cut between the tug and barge as it was making its way under the Lions Gate Bridge. The incident happened in late June but the port released the video late last week in hopes of underscoring the risk during the peak of the summer boating season.
Tow cables are typically submerged in the water, however at times, a cable can shift upward.
“Had they maybe been a couple feet closer to the barge, they could have hit their engine on that tow cable and flipped over and possibly be run over by the barge,” said Natalie Anderson, manager of marine operations and assistant harbour master for the port.
The barge was fully loaded with fuel at the time, according to the port.
In 1999, four adults and one child drowned when their sailboat sank off West Vancouver after they capsized. They too were crossing between a tug and barge.
Members of the Vancouver Police Department marine unit tracked down the boater in the latest incident and issued a $200 ticket for careless operation of a vessel.
Most incidents on the water or near misses come down to two things, a lack of situational awareness or failing to follow the rules of the road, Anderson said.
“We see vessels that are stopping in the First Narrows and in traffic lanes where they’re impeding either tug and tow, or deep sea vessels, which are transiting through the port waterways,” she said. “Next thing you know there’s a ship that’s sounding their horn to get them to move out of their way and ships have limited manoeuvrability.”
It can also be difficult or impossible for a ship captain to see a much smaller boat, depending on their vantage point. Other issues of concern are speed, boating in the dark, and changing weather and water conditions, according to the port.
North Vancouver RCMP, meanwhile, are firing a warning shot across the bow of would-be drunk boaters.
Drinking while boating accounts for roughly 40 per cent of boating fatalities, according to the RCMP. The force is now five years in to a campaign called Operation Dry Water.
Combined with sun, wind, and waves, the effects of alcohol on the water can be greatly increased, an RCMP release stated. Boaters can be charged with impaired operation of a vessel if their blood alcohol level exceeds the .08 threshold, said Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman. Over the long weekend, the RCMP made their presence felt on the water and the shoreline, but found, for the most part, things were shipshape.
“We were out there quite extensively. We were at the boat launch both before and after (the fireworks). There were no major violations,” he said.
