Texada B.C.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada reports that "On August 07, 1999 The tug Jose Narvaez was outbound from Vancouver harbour, at night, towing the coal-laden barge Texada B.C. on a 274 m cable towline. The operator of the pleasure craft Sunboy did not realize that they were approaching a tug/tow combination and passed between the tug and the barge. The propellers of the Sunboy became fouled in the towline, and the pleasure craft was struck by the on-coming barge, and capsized. As a result, some people were thrown into the water and others were trapped within the vessel's enclosed spaces. Of the 14 people who had been on board the Sunboy, nine were rescued and survived, four drowned and one remains missing and is presumed drowned. " "The Texada B.C. is a flush-decked steel barge used for hauling aggregate and coal products between West Coast ports in Canada and the United States. The hull is painted black and the 3 m high box walls are painted grey. There is reflective tape approximately 1 m long and 0.25 m to 0.30 m wide on the top of the box walls facing forward on both the port and starboard sides. At the time of the occurrence the barge was loaded with 5,200 tonnes of coal. The barge is connected to the main towline by a towing bridle consisting of two 20 m lengths of 32 mm diameter steel wire rope. The bridle is led forward from the port and starboard bollards of the barge and is shackled to the towline."