Although the seaman’s voice wavered and shook, it did not break.
“Two men drowned right away. I’ll never forget the looks on one of their faces as they screamed in terror and tried to learn how to swim, smacking (their) hands all around before slipping beneath never to be seen again.”
Philip McDonald sat Tuesday in front of the Commons standing committee on National Defence in St. John’s and told the hearing how he survived the 2005 sinking of the Melina and Keith II.
Four of his crew mates did not. The ordeal lasted four hours before the four survivors were rescued.
McDonald was one of several people who addressed the committee Tuesday.
Speakers ranged from victims of maritime tragedies, politicians, representatives of companies who work in the offshore oil industry, unions and fishermen.
The committee is in the province studying search and rescue response times, a task initiated after the Cougar Flight 491 crash off the Newfoundland coast in 2009 in which 17 people died.
Action on the issue is long overdue, said Conservative MP Maxime Bernier, who heads the committee.
“With more money maybe we can do a little bit more. That’s why we are here. I think it’s important for the government. I think it’s important for all members from all parties to do this study because we think it’s important to be out there to search and rescue people as soon as possible,” he said.
“So we will do our study, give our recommendations to my government and we’ll see what will happen in the end.”
At present the military is expected to have a search and rescue unit in the air less than 30 minutes from receiving a call of distress at sea. This is however only on weekdays from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. During evenings and weekends search and rescue units are expected to be off the ground within two hours.
Nearly all of the presenters at the committee meeting had a singular and clear message. The status quo is not sufficient and more needs to be done to protect people working in marine industries.
Some stated a 24-hour, seven days a week response time of under 30 minutes was what was needed.
Robert Wells, retired Supreme Court judge, and commissioner of a recent high profile inquiry into offshore helicopter safety, was the first person to address the committee during its stop in St. John’s.
In his opinion, he said, Canada’s response time for disasters is not where it should be.
“My inquiries have led me to believe that our waters are some of the most hostile in the offshore oil world,” said Wells.
“We, in my opinion, and I made this very clear in my report, we need search and rescue which is second to none.”
The report being prepared by the committee will hopefully be a step in that direction, said Jack Harris, St. John’s East MP and a member of the committee.
So far the committee has heard the concerns of the interested parties loud and clear, Harris said, especially in regards to response times.
“In particular the fishing industry; they don’t operate 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., they operate 24 hours a day,” said Harris.
“Fishermen are going out for longer periods, they’re going farther out and they are going out overnight for four or five days at a time. It doesn’t depend obviously on the schedule of 30 minute response times.”
As for current response times Harris said, “I think that’s the key to most people in Newfoundland and Labrador. Does that extra hour, half an hour, make a difference in saving lives? We’ve heard evidence that it does.”
But one of the most stirring accounts during the afternoon’s proceedings came from McDonald.
“I saw a young man clinging on to a piece of Styrofoam just 20 minutes before I was rescued. He could not hold on any longer (and drowned). I’m sure he could be here today if only standby time was 30 minutes around the clock each and every day of the year,” he said.
The committee will visit Canadian Forces and Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue stations in St. John’s before heading to Greenwood, N.S., and Halifax later this week.
cmaclean@thetelegram.com
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
