More concerns over El Faro inspection protocol revealed

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The inspection protocol for El Faro was back under the microscope during day four of the Marine Board of Investigation hearings.

Back in February the board dug deeper into concerns about the amount of oversight, or lack thereof, on the program called the Alternate Compliance Program which was over El Faro and many other vessels still sailing today.

Thursday revealed another concern about whether surveyors doing the inspections on behalf of the Coast Guard had enough notice to prepare for the surveys.

The rules say surveyors need a 14-day notice before conducting a survey aboard a vessel. But on the June 2015 survey of El Faro the surveyor only had a one day notice.

Mark Larose is the surveyor with the American Bureau of Shipping who conducted the June survey. He said they often don’t receive a 14-day notice but despite that he said the short turn around doesn’t affect his preparation.

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Another issue that came to light was that during the same survey in June, El Faro’s fire pumps were under the wrong inspection category which would’ve meant that a less strict check of the fire pumps may have been allowed. Despite that, Larose said that since the fire pumps are considered safety equipment he took the initiative to ensure they worked.

Many other vessels still sailing today are enrolled in the Alternate Compliance Program so the board dug deeper to see if this error had been corrected so other surveyors know what to do.

“Are you aware of any actions being taken or any notifications higher up the chain on this issue?” said Capt. Jason Neubauer, Marine Board chair.

“I know that they’re aware of it so it’s up to them, that’s their decision,” said Larose.

Larose said he did not find any issues during his June survey of El Faro; he said that if he did, the problems would’ve been reported.

Cox Media Group