Transportation Safety Board of Canada Investigation into the sinking of the tug Ingenika underway

The official investigation into the sinking of the Wainwright Tug Vessel Ingenika is now underway, with the National Transportation Safety Board of Canada taking the lead into trying to determine what led to the marine incident that claimed two lives on February 11, 2021.

The tug working out of Kitimat was towing a loaded barge, Miller 204 through Gardner Canal, sinking 16 nautical miles ease of Gribell Island in the early morning hours of February 11th. 

The incident brought a Search and Rescue mission to the scene as emergency responders transited the area looking for survivors. 

Two of the crew members of the Ingenika, Troy Pearson from Prince Rupert and  Charley Cragg from Terrace both perished in the incident. 

A third member of the Ingenika crew, Zac Dolan also of Prince Rupert was rescued by a private helicopter that was participating in the search efforts, he continues on with his recovery period.

The barge was later found aground three nautical miles southwest from the position of the tug when it sank.

Tasked with the review of the incident is Mohan Raman, a Senior investigator with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, he has been investigating marine incidents on the coast since 2011.

He also has previous experience with Transport Canada and BC Ferries.

The investigation, which began in late March is listed as a Class 4 Investigation. 

Those reviews are limited in scope and  while the final reports may contain limited analysis, they generally do not contain findings or recommendations.

The TSB investigation process is explained as follows:

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The path that the investigation follows is detailed here, an information  page which outlines the methods involved in reviewing the marine incident as well as who the Transportation Safety Board will contact as part of their process towards a final report.

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The home page for the TSB of Canada review of the Ingenika incident can be found here.

The Transportation Safety Board notes that a Class Four investigation normally is completed within 220 days of its launch, which would make a release for the delivery of their findings to be sometime in mid-October.

Since the sinking of the vessel, we have been tracking information related to the incident on an archive page, you can review the latest additions that we have added to our listings here.