Inexperience, poor lighting contributed to 1999 boat accident

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VANCOUVER, B.C. — A Bellevue pleasure boat operator’s inexperience and a poorly lit barge contributed to a fatal accident during a 1999 fireworks display, the Canadian Transportation Safety Board says.

Five people died when the 40-foot yacht “Sunboy” crossed between a tugboat and its barge, struck the towline and capsized. The yacht was owned by Lijun Song of Bellevue.

Fourteen people were aboard the Sunboy on the night of the annual English Bay fireworks show on Aug. 7, 1999. Three Seattle residents — Manfai Ngo, 37, his son Frank Ngo, 5, and Marilyn Waye, 51 — were killed.

Susie Chen of West Vancouver drowned and the body of her husband, Louis Chen, was never found.

A safety board report issued yesterday also said the wheelhouse of the tugboat was left temporarily unattended, which “resulted in the crew being unaware of the presence of the (pleasure craft) at a critical time during the passage.”

The report found the “Sunboy operator’s knowledge and understanding of navigational practices was such that he did not fully recognize navigational cues that posed a danger to his vessel.”

The yacht’s operator had never taken formal navigation classes and had little boating experience, the report said.

North Vancouver Royal Canadian Mounted Police looked into possible charges of criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a vessel, but found insufficient evidence to bring charges against the operators of either vessel.