USCG panel hears from Tote’s port engineer as first round of El Faro hearings concludes
Tote Services’ port engineer discussed with El Faro’s captain the brewing storm that would ultimately sink the cargo vessel, the US Coast Guard’s panel of inquiry heard on Friday.
The men talked over dinner shortly before the ship’s final departure from Jacksonville, Florida, and neither considered the storm might turn into a hurricane.
Port engineer Tim Neeson discussed his exchange with captain Michael Davidson while giving testimony on the 10th and final day of the first round of a US Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Board of Investigation into the El Faro sinking.
El Faro went down en route from Jacksonville to San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the loss of all 33 crew off the Bahamas on October 1 when it was caught without propulsive power in Hurricane Joaquin. Its wreckage was found broken into two parts on the ocean floor on October 31.
Neeson, who works for ship owners Tote Services, also told the investigation about the ship’s material condition. Notably he confirmed the inspection contractor’s assertion that the ship’s propulsion system needed maintenance but was considered safe to sail for another six months.
The initial round of hearings in Jacksonville has been trying to piece together the series of events that led up to the disaster. A second round of hearings will be staged at an as-yet-undetermined location later in the year, probably in summer. Those hearings are expected to go into more detail.
In April a second attempt will be made to search for El Faro’s voyage data recorder (VDR). The first attempt in November 2015 was unsuccessful. If the VDR is found this time it would probably necessitate the start of the second USCG inquiry panel being delayed.
