Re: “Fearmongers spread tanker misinformation,” Jan. 11.

According to the letter-writer, Douglas Channel is “four times as wide at its narrowest point as Active Pass near Victoria.”

Anyone who has been on a B.C. Ferry trip through Active Pass might not view that as a guarantee of safe tanker passage through Douglas Channel, particularly at night, in fog or during a storm.

The writer chose not to mention the width of the passages around Gil Island, where the Queen of the North sank.

Does he remember the fatal 1970 collision between the Queen of Victoria and Soviet freighter Sergey Yesenin in Active Pass? Years later, the same ferry was disabled by an engine-room fire near the same spot in Active Pass.

Does he remember the 2007 recommendation by former auditor general George Morfitt, who advised B.C. Ferries to “reassess the risk posed by two of its largest ships simultaneously navigating Active Pass in opposite directions.”

The Jan. 16 story about Cowichan Bay coal-freighter backlogs resulting from a pier-destroying collision at the Westshore Terminal is yet another reality check about the dangers of shipping on the B.C. coast, even when a B.C. coastal pilot is on board.

Kelly Manning

Saanich

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