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VANCOUVER — A jury has convicted navigating officer Karl Lilgert of criminal negligence causing death in the sinking of the Queen of the North passenger ferry.

Lilgert was on the bridge when the ferry missed a turn and struck an island off British Columbia’s northern coast on March 22, 2006, sinking and leaving two passengers missing.

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The 59-year-old was charged in 2010, but his trial didn’t begin until January of this year.

Jurors have been deliberating since last Tuesday and earlier Monday, returned to court to ask questions related to whether Lilgert directly caused the deaths of the two missing.

Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette, a common-law couple from 108 Mile House, B.C., have not been seen since the sinking and have been presumed drowned.

The Crown alleged Lilgert neglected his duties when the he missed a turn and then failed to take evasive action or slow the ship down, while Lilbert testified he was doing everything he could to navigate the ship through rough weather, and his lawyers blamed unreliable equipment and poor policies within BC Ferries.