El Faro Black Box Search Resumes

Maritime News
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at least this time they are back with a proper vessel…but why not with an ROV already to dive if the VDR capsule is located?

E[B]l Faro Black Box Search Resumes
[/B]
By MarEx 2016-04-17 18:21:19

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will resume its search for the voyage data recorder or “black box” from the El Faro on Monday.

In a statement on Sunday, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said this second search will also involve more documentation of the wreckage.

Crews from the National Science Foundation and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are expected to be at the wreckage site for 10 days. They will return on May 5.

A search area of approximately 35 square kilometers (13.5 square miles) will be photo- and video-documented by Sentry, an autonomous underwater vehicle that will be launched from the research vessel Atlantis, which is owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Sentry can work at depths of nearly 20,000 feet and can be equipped with a wide array of sonar, camera and other sensors.

The El Faro sank in a hurricane October 1, 2015, after losing propulsion near the Bahamas on its way from Jacksonville to San Juan, Puerto Rico. All 33 on board died.

The 790-foot ship was located in about 15,000 feet of water near the Bahamas on October 31. Over the next few weeks the ship and the debris field were documented with a video camera mounted on a remotely operated vehicle.

Video revealed that the navigation bridge structure and the deck below it had separated from the ship. The missing structure included the mast and its base where the VDR was mounted. Neither the mast nor the VDR was found in the vicinity of the navigation bridge structure.

A search crew on the salvage tug Apache, working for the NTSB, were unable to find the VDR in an initial examination of the wreck site. The VDR recording unit was fitted with a battery-powered underwater acoustic beacon, which would have emitted detectable sonar pings to assist the search team.

In February, John Fletcher, Global Service Manager for Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine, told investigators that the battery for the El Faro’s voyage data recorder (VDR) may have passed its expiration date prior to her sinking. The unit was serviced in May 2015, but the firm was not sure whether or not the battery had been replaced at that time; if not, it would have been past its due date. Sperry did not find out about the inspection uncertainty until after the El Faro went down.

By SOLAS requirements, the VDR unit would have recorded date and time, position, speed (through water or over ground), heading, bridge audio, comms audio, selected radar data, and AIS data – information considered valuable to the investigation into her loss.

A VDR of the type that was mounted on El Faro is capable of recording conversations and sounds on the navigation bridge, which could provide investigators with important evidence as they seek to understand the sequence of events that led to the sinking. In addition, investigators hope to obtain high quality images of the bridge, debris field and hull.

If the VDR is located, another mission using a remotely operated vehicle capable of recovering the recorder will be initiated.

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And now this:

“The research vessel Atlantis…had to return to port after an undisclosed maintenance issue…it was unclear when the vessel would relaunch”

While it might provide some details we don’t have, the VDR went down 6 months ago, had a battery life of 30 days and it’s unclear whether the battery had been even been replaced and was even functioning at the time of the sinking, making even the 30 day life doubtful.

From what we’ve learned so far, does anyone have any doubts as to why the ship was lost?

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[QUOTE=Lee Shore;183412]

From what we’ve learned so far, does anyone have any doubts as to why the ship was lost?[/QUOTE]

Yes, everyone except those with a crystal ball or who don’t know enough about it to know they can’t possibly know what happened without a Hell of a lot more information.

Do you know the purpose of that battery you’re mumbling about?

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[QUOTE=Steamer;183416]Yes, everyone except those with a crystal ball or who don’t know enough about it to know they can’t possibly know what happened without a Hell of a lot more information.

Do you know the purpose of that battery you’re mumbling about?[/QUOTE]

A 40 year-old ship with stability issues sails into a hurricane and loses the plant, takes on water, develops a serious list, and you can’t possibly figure out what happened without a Hell of a lot more information? Gee, what could have gone wrong at that point?

Sperry: For a fixed data capsule installation, the following survivability
specifications apply to both VDR and S-VDR:

• Deep sea pressure and immersion – 24 hours at 6.000 meters
depth, and 30 days at 3 meters depth

The fixed capsule must have a release mechanism to facilitate
recovery underwater by a diver or ROV, and must be equipped with
an acoustic underwater beacon with a battery life of at least 30
days.

It was revealed in the Jacksonville hearings that the battery should have been replaced at the date of the last inspection but was not. The technician who neglected to replace it per company policy was reprimanded. You think it can be located by blindly groping around at a depth of 15,000 feet and on the very slim chance it can be retrieved it will reveal startling new information?

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[QUOTE=Lee Shore;183419]

It was revealed in the Jacksonville hearings that the battery should have been replaced at the date of the last inspection but was not. The technician who neglected to replace it per company policy was reprimanded. You think it can be located by blindly groping around at a depth of 15,000 feet and on the very slim chance it can be retrieved it will reveal startling new information?[/QUOTE]

It’s a beacon battery, it doesn’t power the recorder. Of course it is long dead but so what?

Yes it is possible to find the recorder, they know the general location and it is far from a lost cause. The Air France 447 recorder was located a year after the crash at nearly the same depth but in much more difficult to search bottom conditions. It’s a good thing they didn’t ask your permission to search, advice, or for your conclusions as to the cause of the crash.

Perhaps your implied expertise in such matters would convince the NTSB that their efforts are futile and they should contract you to fill in all the missing details. Such insight and knowledge on your part might save the taxpayer millions and rewrite the book on accident investigation.

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The Air France 447 disappearance was a mystery. The loss of the ship - not so much.

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[QUOTE=Lee Shore;183430]The Air France 447 disappearance was a mystery. The loss of the ship - not so much.[/QUOTE]

I would like more info as to what happened with the loss of propulsion. We may know the basics, but the particulars would be good too.

I wish Woods Hole all the best of luck. This could have been a good first mission for the Neil Armstrong but my understanding is that she’s committed.

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[QUOTE=catherder;183452]I would like more info as to what happened with the loss of propulsion. We may know the basics, but the particulars would be good too.[/QUOTE]

yes indeed…what cause the ship to go not under command? I can’t believe that even today after hearings and the investigation by two agencies we still do not have a conclusive answer to that question! WHY IS THIS BEING BURIED AND COVERED UP?

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[QUOTE=c.captain;183463]yes indeed…what cause the ship to go not under command? I can’t believe that even today after hearings and the investigation by two agencies we still do not have a conclusive answer to that question! WHY IS THIS BEING BURIED AND COVERED UP?[/QUOTE]

Because the truth would expose the soft underbelly of US shipping

Lots of people with clenched sphincters over this case.

Let’s hope they find that box.

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looks like they should be going back fairly soon

[B]El Faro VDR Salvage to Occur Within Months[/B]

By Reuters 2016-05-05

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board hopes to recover the voyage data recorder from the cargo ship El Faro, which sank during a hurricane killing all 33 crew on board, over the next two to three months, an agency official said on Thursday.

A surveillance trip to the site where the ship sank last year, some 15,000 feet (4,600 meters) below sea level off the Bahamas, pinpointed the location of the recorder on April 26.

It should contain navigational data and the last 12 hours of audio on the ship’s bridge, Brian Curtis, acting director of the Office of Marine Safety at the NTSB, told reporters. He spoke after the voyage to locate the recorder returned to port in Massachusetts.

“We know where it is but it is still a tall challenge. That voyage data recorder is in the middle of the ocean under 15,000 feet of water,” Curtis told reporters at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Falmouth, Massachusetts. “We would like to get out there over the next several months, two to three months.”

The 790-foot (241-meter) El Faro, owned by Sea Star Line LLC and operated by TOTE Services, went down off the Bahamas on October 1 last year while on a cargo run between Florida and Puerto Rico. It was the worst cargo shipping disaster involving a U.S.-flagged vessel in more than three decades.

It may take time to extract data from the recorder due to its long immersion, Curtis said, noting that the device was designed to withstand the pressure of being submerged under as much as 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) of water.

“We’re much more optimistic today from the work we’ve done,” Curtis said. “It can only be a benefit to the investigation.”

In his final transmissions, El Faro’s captain reported that the ship was losing propulsion and taking on water.

Company executives have said the decision to attempt the voyage and set the ship’s route, despite the dangers posed by a severe storm, were the responsibilities of the captain, who went down with his ship.

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I am very interested on how the possibility of recovering m the recorder will change any testimony from TOTE Officials.

The way that I am thinking is TOTE might be a little more than worried about what might be on that recorder. This might actually work out better (for the upcoming hearings) that they have not recovered the recorder rather than having it and finding the data corrupted.

I realize that any voice recordings from the Bridge will be very hard for the Families and Loved Ones of the Lost Crew but I hope that it can give them some closure. Hopefully we can learn what happened and when so we all can put a lot of the speculations to bed once and for all.

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“We would like to get out there over the next several months, two to three months.”

I guess that can mean ‘fairly soon’ to some folks.

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The fact that TOTE isn’t spearheading the effort or offering to pay for the recovery is very telling. The hard part was finding it, they should be tripping all over themselves to recover the unit if they have nothing to hide. The bridge microphones would have picked up the conversations between the captain and mates after the phone calls. If he was frustrated about something the captain would have lamented about whatever it was. Those sound bites could give some indication of any commercial pressure he was under.

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Evidence that doesn’t exist or is beyond reach can’t cause harm merely by being unavailable.

Extant but unknown evidence is worrisome because it may be a smoking gun - or it may not be. The VDR is now in that category.

Tote’s lawyers, being that they are defending, should prefer no evidence to evidence of an unknown nature. Therefore they should recommend not assisting in its discovery and acquisition beyond what the law requires. If their lawyers recommended otherwise they would be inept.

This may be bad from a PR perspective or even disgusting from the moral angle but it’s the smart move for Tote’s defense.