JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The inequity into the October 2015 sinking of El Faro is closer to completion as the National Transportation Safety Board releases two more reports Friday.
El Faro sailed into the path of Hurricane Joaquin and sank two days after leaving Jacksonville en route to Puerto Rico. With 33 people dying in the accident, it was the deadliest maritime accident of its kind in more than 60 years.
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The Human Performance Group Factual Report included information about oversight by the cargo ship's owner, TOTE Maritime, decision-making, crew interactions and training and procedures.
Also released was the Wreckage Trajectory Study, with information about the calculations made for the successful recovery of El Faro's VDR.
Although the majority of the material developed during the course of the investigation are in the NTSB docket, but more documents may be added to it as the investigation continues. News4Jax was told the final report should be complete by the end of the year.
Earlier this summer, the NTSB released a report urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Service and the U.S. Coast Guard to take action on their recommendations in the interest of mariner safety.
READ: NTSB safety recommendations
The changes recommended by the NTSB include that the NWS work to make hurricane bulletins more readily available to mariners, that it make it clear when the next forecast update will be released and for government forecasters to improve their hurricane forecast models.
The NTSB said critical tropical cyclone information issued by the NWS is not always available to mariners via well-established broadcast methods.
While the NTSB has still not determined the probable cause or contributing factors in the El Faro's sinking, it was the only ship in the area that did not turn away from the hurricane.