Western Stevedoring Co Ltd entered guilty pleas to two Canada labour code violations preceding a fatal accident involving forklift operator Kevin Lowes, 44.

The Provincial Court of British Columbia in North Vancouver accepted the pleas on 30 January and set fines at CAD145,000 (USD144,681). The Crown prosecutor dropped 12 other counts.

On 19 May 2010, the experienced waterfront worker was asked to repair a metal chain at the end of a floating barge ramp at Western's Lynnterm cargo terminal serving the Port of Vancouver.

The ramp had a longtime load limit against any equipment exceeding 10,000 lb. (4,500 kg) gross vehicle weight, but that provision was ignored as Lowe drove a forklift weighing about 47,000 lb. (21,150 kg) onto the raised ramp.

A pontoon supporting the ramp failed, according to investigators. The forklift tumbled into the coastal Burrard Inlet and sank about 25 ft. (7.5 m) with Lowes inside the cabin.

Among the violations, "the first count consists in failing to ensure that employees were made aware of every known or foreseeable health and safety hazard in the workplace", says a spokesperson at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) ministry. "In this particular case, the employer failed to ensure employees were aware of the barge ramp manufacturer's specifications that no vehicles should be driven on the ramp when it was in the raised position. The second count consists in failing to develop safe work procedures for the operation and maintenance of the barge ramp."

The court approved a sentencing proposal in which Western Stevedoring paid CAD50,000 for each of the two violations, CAD30,000 for establishment of a trust fund for Lowes' daughter and CAD15,000 as a charitable donation to the Association for Work Place Tragedy Family Support. In addition, the proposal called for the hiring of a health and safety consultant to audit Western Stevedoring's workplace and report on the findings to the HRSDC's labour program.

The prosecution filed charges against the company on 12 May 2011. "The Crown attorney relied upon the evidence collected by the investigators, in particular the engineering report conducted on the ramp after the hazardous occurrence," HRSDC says. "(The report) confirmed the sole reason for the ramp to tilt sharply to one side was the fact that it had been overloaded by the weight of the forklift that had been driven onto it, while it was in the raised position."

HRSDC notes this accident is the first health and safety prosecution of a waterfront company in British Columbia in many years and says "it has highlighted and reinforced the responsibilities employers have towards their employees".

SSA Marine Inc acquired Western Stevedoring in two transactions in 2005 and 2006 and operates the business as a subsidiary. SSA is an operation of holding company Carrix Inc.