The U.S. Coast Guard has scheduled to hold a public Marine Board of Investigation hearing from February 16 to 26 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center in Jacksonville, Florida as part of its investigation into the sinking of the container ship El Faro.
According to USCG, the Board will seek to determine the following,:
- the factors that contributed to the accident;
- whether there is evidence that any act of misconduct, inattention to duty, negligence or willful violation of the law on the part of any licensed or certificated person contributed to the casualty; and
- whether there is evidence that any Coast Guard personnel or any representative or employee of any other government agency or any other person caused or contributed to the casualty.
The first hearing session will focus on pre-accident events, including the regulatory compliance record of the El Faro, crew member duties and qualifications, and past operations of the vessel. The later, yet-to-be scheduled session will examine the ship’s last voyage, including cargo loading, weather conditions and navigation
NTSB which conducted its own investigation, will also participate in the hearings.
This announcement comes a day after 10 families of El Faro victims settled pending lawsuits with the ship’s owner Tote Maritime for $500,000 each.
