| The Transportation Safety Board of Canada states that "The small tug "Seacap XII" was towing the barge "Seaspan 619" upstream in the North Arm of the Fraser River on 11 May 1995. While under the con of the deckhand, the tug veered when the wheel was left unattended, and the tug and the barge struck and damaged the dock, pilings and small vessels in the vicinity of Celtic Shipyards. The voyage to the Fraser River Terminals was resumed by the "Seacap XII" after it had extricated the barge "Seaspan 619" from the various other craft with which it was fouled." "The "Seacap XII" is a steel tug primarily used in the Fraser River. It has twin propellers operating in Kort Nozzles and four rudders connected by a bar. There is an amidships deckhouse which has a galley at the after end and navigation equipment, steering controls and engine controls at the forward end. There are two steering wheels, one in the deckhouse and another on top of the deckhouse. Both steering wheels use direct hydraulic means to control two hydraulic rams which actuate the four rudders through a common connecting bar. There is also an alternative system of steering consisting of four electrical controllers (jog sticks). One is located at the aft steering position, a second on top of the wheel-house and two within the wheel-house. These jog sticks operate an electro-hydraulic shuttle control valve in the steering compartment, which in turn controls the two hydraulic rams which actuate the rudders through the connecting bar. Any single jog stick can control the steering at any time and they each override the steering wheel. The steering gear is of the Wagner type and the jog sticks are of the Square D type, having been changed to the Square D type from the Wagner type some years ago. The jog sticks are spring loaded so that they return to the neutral position when released. The aft deck jog stick was found to be defective in as much as it would remain in the port-engaged position until manually returned to the neutral position. Examination of the switch revealed that this defect had existed for some time prior to this occurrence. (See photographs). However, it was reported that the skipper never used the aft jog and the deckhand had not used it in the recent past. It was also reported that this jog stick had not jammed at any earlier date. " The Transportation Safety Board of Canada reports that "On 15/01/2000 the boom of a mobile crane transported on the barge T.L. Sharpe, towed by the Sea Cap XII, struck the underside of the Knight Street Bridge at 1345 local time, damaging the bridge and the fixtures secured underneath its deck. The force of the striking caused the boom to bend and the crane to slide off the barge and sink." |
