RADISSON
Latest ports
Latest Waypoints
Latest news
Report: Failed handoff of engine control between bridge stations caused allision
A report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) found out that the failed handoff of engine control between bridge stations caused the 'Radisson' to allide with a wharf on Oct 18, 2024, injuring five people. The investigators also found that the operator had not fully dealt with the risks that came with replacing the vessel's engine and controls. The ferry serves as the relief vessel on the Québec–Lévis crossing each spring and fall. It was carrying 94 passengers and nine crew members, when it hit the wharf at the port of Québec. Four passengers and one crew member were hurt. The bow was slightly damaged, and several cars on the vehicle deck were damaged, when they were pushed into each other. No pollution was reported. The original engine was replaced in the fall of 2022, along with its bridge controls. On the old setup, the control levers at the three bridge stations were connected by chains and moved together. The new electronic system had no such link: before a station can take command, the officer has to set its propulsion lever to roughly match the lever at the station giving up control. The ferry's owner, Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ), wrote a new procedure for the handoff, but the TSB found that it did not tell crews enough to complete a transfer or check that it had worked. On the day of the accident, the 'Radisson' finished loading at Lévis at 5.18 p.m. and set out for wharf 92 on the Québec side, a run that normally takes eight minutes. About a minute out, the master began shifting control from the starboard station to the port station, since the ferry would berth port side to. He then walked across the bridge to the port station. Shortly after 5.22 p.m., with the ferry making about ten knots, the master tried the port lever and got no response from the engine. The corner, where the wharves 91 and 92 meet, was roughly 250 meters ahead. The bridge team tried to take control from the other two stations and failed. A vessel was moored at wharf 91 directly in the 'Radisson's path, so the master steered to port to avoid it. Seconds before 5.24 p.m., the ferry hit the corner of the two wharves at 6.3 knots. One passenger was thrown down a ladderway and sustained serious injuries. The chief engineer was also thrown backward into an electrical panel, causing injuries. Several other passengers were thrown to the deck from the force of impact but were unhurt. After the new engine went in, STQ carried out a risk assessment. It rated several hazards as high, including hitting a wharf while arriving or departing and the failure of critical onboard equipment, and its planned remedy was to train bridge crews on the new controls. But the investigators found no record of training specific to the new system, and the crew's general familiarisation did not cover how to transfer control. That lack of preparation made it harder for the bridge team to realise the handoff had not gone through. Crews had also asked the STQ for changes after earlier failed transfers aboard the 'Radisson' in spring 2024, one of which also ended in a dock strike. Those changes including clearer instructions and a third person on the bridge. None had been adopted by the time of the accident. Once the master started the transfer, it was hard to tell if it had been completed, the TSB found: the indicator lights were small and hard to see in sunlight, and there was no audible alert. He only learned of the failure when he tried to slow the ferry on final approach, and by then there was not enough room to stop. The TSB also found weaknesses in how the crew was prepared to handle passengers in an emergency. No general alarm or public address warning was given before the impact. Since the accident, STQ has posted the transfer procedure at each control station, rearranged the port station's panels to match the other two, and installed an alarm that sounds for as long as a transfer is in progress. It also temporarily added a third crew member to the bridge. Despite these changes, the 'Radisson' hit a dock again in November 2025 after another failed engine control transfer.
Ferry out of service after striking dock
The Quebec City-Lévis ferry service has been operating with only one vessel since Nov 20, 2025, following an incident involving the 'Radisson' at 7.20 a.m.. which allided with the dock on the Quebec City sideat a speed of approximately two knots. The impact was significant enough to throw several passengers to the floor.One passenger sustained a minor finger injury. The incident reduced service could last for a week, according to initial estimates from the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ). An investigation has been launchedtto determine the circumstances of the allision and ensure that all safety measures are being followed. The objective was to resume the service with two vessels around Nov 27. The 1954 built is the oldest vessel in the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) fleet. It also struck the Quebec City wharf in the fall of 2024.
Steering gear failure
The "Radisson" suffered a steering gear failure, while approaching the dock off Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive, Quebec, in position 47 26 46.6N, 070 21 54.7W, on July 9, 2019, at 5.30 p.m. The vessel subsequently moored, the crew carried out repairs, and the vessel resumed its operations.
Upload News