VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 24 (UPI) -- Former Queen of the North officer Karl Lilgert was sentenced to four years in prison Monday for negligence in the fatal 2006 sinking of the Canadian ferry.
Lilgert, 59, who was in charge of the ship when it went down, also was banned from operating any vessel for 10 years, CTV News reported.
Victoria News reported British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein called Lilgert's actions "an extreme and catastrophic dereliction of duty."
Queen of the North passengers Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette were never found after the vessel struck Gil Island and sank off the British Columbia coast in March 2006.
Prosecutors said Lilgert was distracted by the presence of a former lover on the bridge, Quartermaster Karen Briker, and failed in his duties to keep the ship on course. The ferry missed a scheduled turn and hit the island.
Lilgert and Briker had ended their relationship just weeks before the mishap.
Lilgert, who was fired by BC Ferries after the accident and convicted last month, maintained he handled the ship the best he could in bad weather and saddled with unreliable equipment.
His attorneys plan to appeal.
