“Shawn Ralph didn't drown my brother”

By Rosie Gillingham

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

Transcontinental Media

The fine given to the captain of the Melina and Keith II was $5,000, but to the family of one of the men who died when the boat sank, it could have been one dollar or $1 million.

It was immaterial for Mary Connolly and Marion Butler, who said the skipper is not to blame for the death of their brother, Anthony Molloy.

"Shawn Ralph didn't drown my brother," said Connolly, who wasn't in provincial court on Tuesday, Aug. 18 for Ralph's sentencing, but spoke with Transcontinental Media’s The Telegram later in the day. "Shawn Ralph didn't leave him in the freezing cold water waiting for hours (to be rescued)."

That, the women argue, was the fault of the Canadian Coast Guard's search and rescue unit and the Department of Defence. They maintain the slow response resulted in the men's deaths.

Molloy was one of four crewmembers who lost their lives when the 65-foot fishing boat sank 150 kilometres north of St. John's on Sept. 12, 2005.

Four other crewmen, including Ralph, managed to survive by hanging on to the overturned ship for several hours before being rescued.

"It was because of the Coast Guard and the Department of National Defence, not Shawn Ralph, that those bodies were lost," Butler said from her home in St. Mary's. "That man didn't set out on that voyage to destroy any lives."

Ralph was issued the $5,000 fine in provincial court in St. John's for violating several Canadian Shipping Act regulations during the boat's final voyage in September 2005. The 43-year-old from Eastport was convicted in July of five of the eight charges, which were laid following Transport Canada's investigation into the ship's sinking.

Ralph was found guilty of failing to operate the vessel with a sufficient number of mates (there were none on board the Melina and Keith II during its final voyage), failing to take adequate steps to ensure the crew understood the use of the lifesaving and firefighting equipment, failing to ensure a deck watch was properly maintained when he left the deck unattended, failing to maintain a proper lookout and failing to have a valid certificate for the vessel.

Of the total fine, the biggest penalty - $3,000 - was issued for not having a mate on board which, the judge said, may have contributed to some of the other breaches.

In rendering his decision, Judge Gregory Brown said Ralph's actions "fell short in establishing due diligence" and that the captain had other choices available to him.

During the trial - which spanned one and a half years - some survivors of the sinking had testified they felt Ralph didn't do his job in preparing the crew. However, Judge Brown stressed the point that the fine imposed was not an indication that Ralph was guilty for the loss of life.

"Whatever happened after the sinking," the judge said, "was not relevant (to this case)."

After sentencing, Ralph told reporters he believed he was being used as a scapegoat and that the Canadian Coast Guard and Department of National Defence should shoulder responsibility for the deaths of his four crewmen, which included his younger brother, Justin.

"They should've, and could've, been charged with neglecting their duty," said Ralph, who plans to appeal the sentence. "It seemed like the coast guard had no backup system.

"I think this here was more of a deflection ... because of some neglect on their part and they're coming out with charges, I don't think it's really reasonable."

In May 2007, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Department of National Defence released their reports on search and rescue's response to the disaster. They identified issues with the search and rescue system and made some 35 recommendations on how the system might be improved.

The Transportation Safety Board found that the search and rescue coordinator had difficulty contacting the fishing vessel owner and operator because of insufficient contact information on the day of the sinking.

The probe into the tragedy discovered that the crew of the 19-metre turbot boat called for help at 3:18 p.m., but a helicopter wasn't dispatched from Gander until 5:35 p.m.

The distress signal - an emergency position indicating radio beacon - did not indicate location.

But Ralph didn't have time to put a mayday call out that day when the boat started taking on water and the Coast Guard said it had trouble locating the vessel. The reports revealed an overwhelmed coordinator manning the Coast Guard centre.

A high record of false alarms led to the incident not being treated as urgently as it should have been at the start. Molloy's family believe things have to change or else more tragedies will happen.

"The system failed my brother and if anybody is guilty, it's the system we rely on," Connolly said. "Nothing has changed since this accident and I'm afraid something like this will happen again.

"And that's sad because it all could've been prevented."

(Rosie Gillingham is a journalist with Transcontinental Media’s Telegram, which is a contributor to the Sou’Wester.)