VANCOUVER - The man navigating a BC ferry the night it ran aground and sank says he altered course to avoid another vessel, but didn't tell anyone about the other ship, even though it could have helped in the subsequent rescue effort.

Karl Lilgert was testifying in his own defence for the third day in a row in his trial on charges of criminal negligence causing the death of two passengers in the sinking of the Queen of the North in 2006.

Lilgert, under intense cross-examination by Crown prosecutor Michel Huot, said he altered the course of the ferry towards Gil Island to account for a southerly wind that was pushing the ship closer to another vessel he identified on the radar.

Lilgert said he was shocked to see the trees of Gil Island appear in the ferry window when he believed his intended course should have kept the vessel away from land.

The Crown has alleged Lilgert neglected his duties when he missed a scheduled course alteration and then failed to take any action to avoid Gil Island. In the early morning hours of March 22, 2006, the Queen of the North eventually sank, trapping two passengers who are now presumed dead.

Lilgert and Karen Briker — a deckhand with whom Lilgert had an extramarital affair — were the only two crew on the bridge that night.

"You knew you were responsible for driving that ship into Gil Island," Huot said to Lilgert during cross-examination.

"I never once denied that," Lilgert replied.

"Knowing what you'd done, I take it you were concerned for the welfare of the crew members and passengers?"

"That was my first concern," Lilgert said, his voice cracking.

"Did you mention to anyone at any time that there was a boat nearby that might be able to assist?" the Crown prosecutor asked, referring to the boat Lilgert said he was navigating to avoid.

"I don't remember any of that."

Lilgert said he could not remember alerting anyone of the other ship's presence, even while he sat in a lifeboat waiting for help to arrive.

The court has already heard considerable details about Lilgert's thousands of hours as a mariner, his extensive training on navigational equipment and his knowledge of good seamanship.

The court also heard an audio recording of radio transmissions made between the Queen of the North and traffic control stations enroute between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy.

Lilgert can be heard relaying the ship's position to the station. Also on the recording is a transmission from a slow-moving tug boat hauling 22 sections of logs in the area.

Lilgert, however, told the court he does not remember hearing that transmission and suggested that the radio does not pick up transmissions from other vessels, only those emanating from the traffic control station.

"You don't hear vessels calling on the same channel," Lilgert said. "If they are in line of sight you hear it, but if they are calling radio traffic, you don't hear it."

Later on in the recording, traffic control alerts the Queen of the North about the slow moving tug.

Lilgert can be heard inquiring about its position. Lilgert asks the operator if the tug was travelling down Douglas Channel. The operator responded, "Negative, coming down Berny Pass."

The Crown prosecutor insisted Lilgert would have been able to hear that transmission.

Lilgert responded by saying "If I did (hear the other transmission) I'm not sure why I would have called in to ask."

"Could it be possibly because you weren't paying attention?"

Lilgert sat silently for a moment. "I believe I was paying attention," he said.

Lilgert has testified he ordered Briker to make two course alterations to account for another ship in the area and the wind which was pushing the ferry slightly North.

However the court has already seen video evidence of the electronic navigation system that shows the Queen of the North travelling on a course towards Gill Island — a course that does not reflect the two course alterations Lilgert said he made.

"I can't explain (the electronic chart system) playback. I can only tell you what happened," Lilgert said.

The Crown also spent a considerable amount of time questioning Lilgert on the precise moment he altered the ferry's course to adjust for the southerly wind that he said was taking the ship off track.

Lilgert said he made the course alteration after a squall enveloped the other vessel he said he saw, but before the squall enveloped the Queen of the North.

He said this despite the Crown's insistence that the squall was moving south to north and therefore must have covered the ferry before the other vessel.

"I don't think the Queen of the North was experiencing the heavy squall that was affecting that vessel. I was able to distinguish (the Queen of the North) on the radar. I used the radar to make that alteration," Lilgert said.

Lilgert told the court he plotted a course that he thought would keep the ferry three cables — or about half a kilometre — off the coast of Gil Island.

But it was then, while Lilgert was playing with the radar controls, that he said he saw the trees of Gil Island and knew the ship was not in the position it was supposed to be.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2013