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USCG inspectors found El Faro in good working order seven months before sinking

US Coast Guard (USCG) inspectors who examined El Faro seven months before its tragic final journey found the vessel in good condition and its crew very proficient, the USCG Marine Board of Investigation into the ship’s sinking heard on Wednesday.

The El Faro went down with the loss of all 33 crew on October 1, 2015 when it was caught in Hurricane Joaquin off the Bahamas while en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Jacksonville, Florida.

Wednesday’s testimony at the Prime Osborn Convention Center in Jacksonville, marked the eighth day of this second round of the Board’s hearings into the matter.

USCG Marine Safety Inspector Jerry McMillan told the hearing that when he was on the ship in March 2015 everything was well maintained and the crew knew exactly what they were doing.

He also said that El Faro’s owner Tote is among the better companies when it comes to maintaining its vessels.

Another USCG officer, Marine Casualty Investigator Andrew Schock, also saw El Faro in March 2015 and he found a steering gear overturned, which required repair. But generally, he said, the ship looked good.

On previous days, testimony has been heard from staff of the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) – a third party to which the USCG has outsourced much of its commercial shipping inspections under a system called the Alternate Compliance Program (ACP).

McMillan said that the ACP means USCG spends much less time on vessels than it used to but he feels the ACP gets the same results as the USCG used to do on its own.

This round of the hearings will continue until the end of this week. So far it has focused on the ship’s cargo, its stability and the weather.

A third round of hearings is likely, probably after the ship’s voyage data recorder (VDR) has been recovered.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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