Bottom contact
Roll-on roll-off passenger ferry Grace Sparkes
Burnside, Newfoundland and Labrador
The occurrence
On 21 January 2015, the passenger ferry Grace Sparkes made contact with Whale's Back Rock while enroute to Burnside, NL from St. Brendan's, NL. There were 4 passengers on board. Although the hull was damaged, the incident did not cause any injuries or pollution.
Investigation information
M15A0009
Bottom contact
Roll-on roll-off passenger ferry Grace Sparkes
Burnside, Newfoundland and Labrador
Investigator-in-charge
Terry Hiltz joined the Transportation Safety Board as a senior marine investigator in 2012 after 31 years with the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). The first 26 years of his CCG career were onboard CCG vessels in various positions, including chief engineer. In his last 5 years there, Mr. Hiltz worked as a shore-based vessel maintenance manager, with delegation as the technical authority on numerous CCG vessels for refit projects.
Mr. Hiltz holds second-class motor and fourth-class steam engineer certification, and is also certified as a ship security officer and lead SMS auditor.
Download high-resolution photos from the TSB Flickr page.
Class of investigation
This is a class 3 investigation. These investigations analyze a small number of safety issues, and may result in recommendations. Class 3 investigations are generally completed within 450 days. For more information, see the Policy on Occurrence Classification.
TSB investigation process
There are 3 phases to a TSB investigation
- Field phase: a team of investigators examines the occurrence site and wreckage, interviews witnesses and collects pertinent information.
- Examination and analysis phase: the TSB reviews pertinent records, tests components of the wreckage in the lab, determines the sequence of events and identifies safety deficiencies. When safety deficiencies are suspected or confirmed, the TSB advises the appropriate authority without waiting until publication of the final report.
- Report phase: a confidential draft report is approved by the Board and sent to persons and corporations who are directly concerned by the report. They then have the opportunity to dispute or correct information they believe to be incorrect. The Board considers all representations before approving the final report, which is subsequently released to the public.
For more information, see our Investigation process page.
The TSB is an independent agency that investigates air, marine, pipeline, and rail 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.