The families of three El Faro crew members who died when the cargo ship sank during a hurricane in October 2015, have accepted settlements of at least $500,000 from the ship’s owner, according to court documents filed this week.
The owner, TOTE Services Inc., agreed to pay $500,000 to each family for “pre-death pain and suffering” and an unspecified amount to cover the “full economic loss” caused by the deaths.
In January, TOTE Services agreed to pay the same amount to the families of each of 10 other crew members, including Capt. Michael Davidson, 53, of Windham. With the latest court decision, TOTE Services will also pay $500,000 plus economic losses to the families of Dylan Meklin, Danielle Randolph and Michael Holland. The family of Jackie Robert Jones Jr. of Jacksonville also settled this week.
Michael Holland’s mother, said that she and her family felt the settlement offer was “fair.” She said they decided to accept the offer after consulting with attorneys, including one with a specialty in maritime law.
“Our decision had nothing to do with blame. I have held Hurricane Joaquin responsible from day one and continue to do so. While there is no amount of money in the world that will replace the loss of our beloved son, we felt the offer was fair.” Roberts said in an email statement, Port Press Herald informs
In early February, USCG concluded the first hearing which focused on the pre-accident historical events relating to the loss, the regulatory compliance record of the EL FARO, crewmember duties and qualifications, past operations of the vessel and the Coast Guard’s Search and Rescue operations. During a later hearing session the accident voyage, including cargo loading, weather conditions and navigation examined in detail.
The National Transportation Safety Board opened a Public Docket on the investigation and released more underwater images and video
The images on the El Faro investigation that the NTSB has recently released, including the nine underwater photos published in the accident docket, are available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/ntsb/sets/72157659149033059
Additional information and resources are available on the NTSB’s webpage for the El Faro accident investigation: http://go.usa.gov/3Smre