JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the first time since the National Transportation Safety Board released new information earlier this week about the sinking of El Faro, the attorney representing Captain Michael Davidson’s widow Theresa Davidson spoke with News4Jax on Friday.
The 510-page transcript released Tuesday by the NTSB provides a glimpse at the final hours for the crew of 33, all of whom died when El Faro sank on Oct. 1, 2015. Some of those on board questioned the captain's decision to sail closer to Hurricane Joaquin, which took an erratic path as it swirled in the Atlantic.
Recommended Videos
Davidson’s attorney William Bennett made it very clear in his email responses that Davidson had no reservations about taking suggestions from other officers about changing course, highlighting the fact that Davidson had done that exact thing two months prior during Hurricane Erika. Bennett said there’s more that goes into it.
Bennett described Davidson as a captain who was experienced in rough-weather sailing. About Davidson’s response to suggestions from third mate Jeremie Riehm and second mate Danielle Randolph, he said, “As all professional mariners do during bad weather, the officers assessed alternative routes, which had their own inherent risks.”
Davidson’s widow said previously that her husband was reprimanded for refusing to lead a ship with steering problems. While that company was not TOTE, Bennett said it highlight’s Davidson’s position on safety.
“He refused to sail the ship under its own power and instead used tugs to move it,” Bennett said. “He was indeed reprimanded, which highlights the fact that he placed the safety of his vessel and crew above his career.”
Bennett also said that the voyage data recorder transcript, and evidence presented in hearings, shows the captain was monitoring the storm for close to a week when it originally formed, but as the NTSB and Coast Guard have said, “The weather data supplied by the National Hurricane Weather Center was, however, incorrect.”
Bennett ended by saying, “As evident in the transcript released by the NTSB this week, Capt. Davidson and the entire crew of the El Faro were extremely professional, brave and heroic.”
The next round of Coast Guard hearings may discuss the transcripts. The hearings are expected early next year.