JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two weeks of marine safety hearings regarding the sinking of the El Faro cargo ship will begin Tuesday.
A panel of Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board officials will be hear testimony from a variety of witnesses about the sinking of Jacksonville-based cargo ship on Oct. 1 off the coast of the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin. All 33 crew members aboard perished.
The hearings, are scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesday through Feb. 26, at the Prime Osborne Center. It is open to the public and will be streamed live on News4Jax.com.
In general this hearing session will trace the history of the ship up until the departure from the sea buoy heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico, but will include some elements related to the accident voyage
The opening Tuesday will include swearing in the Board, and a moment of silence for the crew. The day will continue with Philip Morrell, Tote Services, Inc. (TSI) having discussions about the El Faro regarding its general age, condition, intentions for the ship, engineering and operation of the vessel, labor relations issues and hiring.
The hearing is setup to address six major areas over the 10-day session:
- Who is TOTE Services and Totem Maritime Puerto Rico?
- What is the regulatory regime in general?
- What was the El Faro like as a ship to be onboard?
- What was the loading and stability for the ship in general?
- General overview of the pre-voyage
- The United States Coast Guard Safety and Rescue Response
The Coast Guard said that recommendations will come from these hearings and it’s possible that regulatory, policy, or statutory changes could be made as a result.
The man who will lead the Coast Guard's El Faro inquiry said that investigators hope the hearings into what happened to the sunken cargo ship lead to new laws that will prevent such tragedies from happening.
Capt. Jason Neubauer will lead that investigation at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, along with others from the Coast Guard Marine Board.
Neubauer said the board will be looking at the events leading up to the accident and will interview company officials and former crew members.
“(We want to determine) accountability for the accident. We are looking for any evidence of misconduct, negligence of attention to duty of any party that could have led to the casualty,” Neubauer said.
There are still many secrets that need to be recovered from the wreck of the El Faro.
Investigators may never be able to salvage the sunken ship, which was found 15,000 feet below the surface near its last known position.
But the Coast Guard is hoping to find many answers with its 10 days of hearings, which will look at inspection reports, past operations and crew member duties.
Neubauer said there are many people involved that he plans to question in the public inquiry, which will be followed in weeks to come with a look at the voyage itself, including weather conditions, cargo and navigation.
The board will issue findings possibly in the summer.
“The final report will likely have safety recommendations to try and influence new laws and regulations that could help prevent a re-occurrence,” Neubauer said. “It may have recommendations related to enforcement action.”
If there are any findings of criminal or civil wrongdoing, they will be turned over to the justice department. The Coast Guard can't prosecute anyone responsible, but can issue fines for civil penalties.
While 10 of the families of victims have opted to settle, others are waiting to see what comes from this and other investigations.
Kurt Arnold, an attorney in Texas, represents four of the families who have not settled with TOTE Maritime, which owned El Faro.
“The Coast Guard has their investigation that is on track. We have a certain investigation that we do,” Arnold said. “We need some of these TOTE (officials) to be deposed under oath. We need to get to the bottom as to why in the world did they allow this to happen.”