El Faro cargo loading software, weight changes were not reported to ABS

Updates to El Faro’s cargo loading software were not reviewed or approved by the American Bureau of Shipping, the group tasked with surveying the vessel, because TOTE did not report the changes.

Weight changes applied to the vessel in preparation to move it to the Alaska trade were also not reported to the Stability Load Line arm of ABS.

It’s the latest in a string of new information to come out of the Marine Board of Investigation hearings, probing into the sinking of El Faro during Hurricane Joaquin, killing all 33 people on board.

El Faro’s crew and those working at the port use a specific software called CargoMax which is a well-known program in the industry that calculates how stable vessels are during the process of adding more weight with containers and other cargo.

New CargoMax software had been installed in El Faro in June 2010.

On Sept. 29, 2015, the day it left on its final voyage, the crew on board and port side were using that updated software.

The Assistant Chief Engineer with the ABS, Thomas Gruber, said they had not reviewed that version to make sure it functioned properly.

If they had, ABS would’ve required an update to the stability guidelines specific to El Faro, called the Trim and Stability booklet.

“We did not review the one that was currently on board nor did we review the one that was shore side,” said Gruber. “That was never witnessed by an ABS surveyor, never went through annual checks that the program on board has to go through."

ABS doesn’t create the guidelines, it’s tasked with reviewing them in accordance with international conventions in place.

The Marine Board asked Gruber about the process of reviewing stability guidelines for each ship and whether anyone with operating experience, like a captain or mate, helps review them.

“We do have people with sailing experience on staff but if you’re asking if we specifically require them to review the booklet in addition? No that’s not the case,” said Gruber.

Before the sinking of El Faro the ship was undergoing modifications to get it ready for the Alaska trade where things like ramps were added.

It was also revealed that fructose tanks plus a series of pipes, pumps, and other supporting equipment was also installed in 2014.

Gruber said it’s up to the owner to notify ABS of the changes because they can’t take action if they’re not notified.

ABS’ manager of structures and statutes, Suresh Pisini, testified that those tanks were reviewed by the ABS Structures Group.

But Gruber confirmed earlier in the day that the weight changes due to the addition of those modifications were not reported to the Stability Load Line Group, which looks at guidelines to keep vessels stable while being loaded with cargo or if they’re modified in any way.

Pisini said that while his department reviewed the addition of the fructose tanks, the Trim and Stability Booklet on board was not updated.

"We have not been able to locate any correspondence or calculations or other revised Trim and Stability Booklet, where the fructose tanks had been included,” said Pisini.

Gruber said even if the weight changes would’ve been reported to the Stability Load Line department they wouldn’t have met the threshold need to conduct what he called a “dead weight survey”.

According to Gruber, he doesn’t believe the weight changes were significant enough to require a new stability test.

Testimony also revealed that the crew aboard El Faro did take into account the fructose tanks while doing their load calculations by counting the tanks as cargo.

During the second week of the these hearings, the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation will hear more about the Alternate Compliance Program which is the inspection protocol El Faro was under that allowed ABS to survey the vessel on the Coast Guard’s behalf.

The hearing reconvenes Monday at 9 a.m.

Cox Media Group