Safety gaps led to 2024 boat crash at Woodfibre LNG site near Squamish, B.C.: TSB

RICHMOND – Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has found a series of gaps leading to a crash between a tugboat and a workboat in 2024, sinking one of the vessels in the waters near Squamish, B.C.

The board’s final report into the Dec. 18, 2024, collision in Squamish Harbour says the crash happened in the marine safety zone for the Woodfibre LNG project about seven kilometres southwest of Squamish.

The report says a tug was pushing a barge carrying provisions to the “floatel” used by Woodfibre to house its worker, while the workboat was idling on standby.

Neither the occupants of the tug nor the workboat were aware they were at risk of a crash before it happened, sinking the workboat and setting off the rescue of the only crew member aboard, who needed to be treated for hypothermia.

The report found that the tug master’s visibility was obstructed by structures, and further compromised by bright lights from the construction site and nearby vessels, creating a glare off the water. 

It said the pilot of the workboat did not receive any message announcing the arrival of the tug and thought its lights would make it visible to others, and the investigation identified holes in communication and safety management information among the contractors on site. 

“Hazards such as obstructed visibility and glare from shoreline lighting were known at the operational level but had not been formally assessed and mitigated.

“Localized work practices had also developed within individual operations without a shared understanding of how they could affect one another.”

The TSB says the groups involved in the operation of vessels near the Woodfibre LNG site have made improvements since the crash, including boosting lookout and communication procedures as well as restricting barge movement to daylight hours.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.