December 22, 2013 - 5:21 PM
VANCOUVER - BC Ferries says its insurance company is taking a German electronics firm to court over a 2011 "hard landing" at a Vancouver Island terminal that allegedly caused about $4 million in damage.
The notice of civil claim was filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo on Friday and names BC Ferries as the plaintiff and SAM Electronics GmbH of Hamburg as the defendant.
But BC Ferries' spokeswoman Deborah Marshall says the service's insurance company has filed the court documents and is seeking reimbursement for losses.
The court document alleges the ferry hit the dock at Duke Point Dec. 20, 2011 because a piece of equipment known as an isolating amplifier failed, causing the ship's bow propulsion pitch control system to fail.
The allegations have yet to be proven in court and no statement of defence has been filed.
In March a Transportation Safety Board report partly blamed crew members for the crash because they didn't follow proper procedures for testing equipment before docking.
The plaintiff seeks damages of about $4 million, legal fees, interest and any other relief the court imposes.
The Hamburg company was not immediately available for comment.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013