ST. JOHN’S – The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says the crew of an ill-fated Newfoundland fishing vessel who spent days adrift in a life raft last year had solid safety practices in place.
In a report released today, the independent agency says its investigations often find “weak safety cultures” on commercial fishing vessels, but that was not the case with the crew of the Elite Navigator, which sank in July 2024 after a fire broke out on board.
The report says the boat had more safety equipment than required by regulation, and the seven men on board regularly talked through emergency scenarios and responses.
Because the boat sank, investigators couldn’t determine why a fire broke out — seemingly in the engine room — on the Elite Navigator on July 17, 2024, just after the crew had turned the vessel around to head home.
The report says there was no way for the crew to quickly seal off the engine room and deploy a carbon dioxide-based fire suppressant system, but it says the system was not required by regulation and therefore had no rules governing its use.
The captain and six crew members spent more than 50 hours in a life raft about 240 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland before they were found by the Canadian Coast Guard and brought home to a province stunned and jubilant over their rescue.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2025.
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