JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In its preliminary investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board learned that both of El Faro’s boilers were due for maintenance and were scheduled to receive that maintenance on a date after the ship sank during Hurricane Joaquin.
In day four of witness testimony before the Marine Board of Investigation, the public learned exactly what piece of machinery needed attention.
During Friday’s testimony, TOTE Services Director of Ship Management Jim Fisker-Andersen was asked to read out loud the results from an independent survey conducted on the interior of one of the boilers. It showed a specific part, called the “burner throat,” had issues.
According to maritime attorney Rod Sullivan, the burner throat is an area of the boiler that works to insulate the furnace from the engine room in order to prevent heat from leaking out.
“Burner throats have deteriorated severely, especially between number 1 and number 3 burners, cracking and loss of material, plus heavy buildup of fuel is present in all three throats,” said Fisker-Andersen as he read from the survey.
The Marine Board of Investigation pressed Fisker-Andersen to reveal who made the decision to wait until the ship yard period to address that issue.
Fisker-Andersen said ultimately it was an engineering decision but it didn’t mean El Faro couldn’t sail.
“Yes, some of it needs to be attended to, but there's nothing that's been identified in here, as it's been explained to me, that's a ‘no sail,’” said Fisker-Andersen. “If it was, we wouldn’t have left the dock.”
In July, El Faro’s crew examined both boilers, but only the inside of the starboard boiler was inspected by a third party surveyor. According to the Coast Guard, the inspection survey was completed in September. A witness who works for the third party surveyor is scheduled to testify next week.
Fisker-Andersen said they would sometimes shut down the boiler at sea to do routine maintenance work, but they would never leave port without informing the Coast Guard if they would be operating with one boiler.
It’s not clear if El Faro’s boilers failed on its final voyage, but what is known is that the ship lost propulsion, and there was a breach in a hull.
Discussion later turned to a confidential email sent by Fisker-Andersen, in which he expresses his opinion about El Faro Capt. Michael Davidson’s leadership style. Fisker-Andersen said in the email that Davidson is the least engaged of all four captains in deck operations. Fisker-Andersen stressed it was just a matter of style and nothing more.
William Bennett, who represents Davidson’s wife, took issue with the Marine Board of Investigation’s line of questioning in the matter.
“If this is a fact finding mission, let's get to the facts and not innuendo supposition,” said Bennett. “You're taking emails and little snippets of those who haven't served aboard a ship with him, and you're creating an atmosphere, which is unjust and I object to it.”
The second witness of the day was Alejandro Berrios, who once served as the third mate of El Faro. He said he’s never encountered heavy weather while sailing with Davidson but considered him a very capable master.
According to Berrios, the life rafts, life jackets, life boats and alarms aboard El Faro were in good condition, and there was enough of life jackets and survival suits for everyone.
Berrios said the safety drills, including abandon ship drills, were done every week, and 90 percent of the time, they were done while at sea. He said Davidson did attend some of the drill debriefings, but because many times they were conducted at sea, Davidson had to be in the bridge.
The Marine Board of Investigation also wanted to know how the crew got along.
“To my knowledge, very good communication we maintained,” said Berrios.
Davidson’s evaluation was also read aloud during hearing, he scored all 5s, which means “exceptional”. The only score missing was from the tech manager, who had not yet been given the evaluation form.
The hearings reconvene Saturday at 9 a.m. The first witness to be called is the terminal manager, who will testify about the stowage of cargo and timing of cargo load.
Cox Media Group
