Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigators are trying to determine what might have caused a dredger and barge to collide off Tillbury Island early Tuesday morning.
According to TSB investigator Mohan Raman, the incident occurred around 5 a.m.
The dredger, owned by New Westminster’s Graymar Equipment Inc., somehow lost propulsion and drifted in the path of the barge (Stormwave).
Raman said TSB investigators were deployed to the area on Tuesday afternoon.
“At this time we have still not determined what caused the mechanical failure and the dredger to drift into the path of the tug,” Raman told the Optimist Wednesday afternoon. “There was damage to the haul of the dredger, but no apparent damage to the tug.”
Raman said the dredger was back in the shipyard for inspection and repairs.
There were no environmental concerns following the collision and no injuries were reported.
“We are still gathering information and interviewing the crew,” Raman said, adding he did not have a timeline as to when their investigation would be completed.
The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.
