The NTSB has just released a new 16-page illustrated digest showing the events and timeline that led to the sinking of El Faro, a U.S.-flagged, 790-foot-long cargo ship, and the deaths of its 33-member crew in hurricane Joaquin off the Bahamas on Oct. 1, 2015. It was the worst U.S. maritime disaster in 30 years.
The digest, complete with photos, maps, and infographics, is easy-to-read and comes on top of thousands of pages in the NTSB’s report and other documents. It has more than 60 recommendations and a review of what the government and the maritime industry can do to keep such an accident from happening again.
And it centers on the captain. “From early in the voyage,” the digest reports, “The captain made decisions that put his vessel and crew at risk, including making only minor course corrections to avoid Joaquin; relying on outdated weather sources; declining to change course or return to the bridge, even after receiving three calls from deck officers when he was not on the bridge; and introducing a port heel to shift water on the weather deck from starboard to port.”
The NTSB said that TOTE Maritime, which owned El Faro, provided “inadequate company oversight,” and quotes one TOTE executive as saying, “There is no one in the company that formally provides oversight for nautical.” The digest said that the company failed to train employees in bridge resource management or damage control. “In addition,” it said, “TOTE failed to track the vessel’s position relative to the storm and support the captain during the accident voyage.” Read the complete digest here:
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/SPC1801.pdf
