In 1992, EL FARO underwent a conversion at the Atlantic Marine Shipyard in Mobile,
Alabama. This conversion included the addition of a 90-foot mid-body section between frames
134 and 135 that added a cargo hold (designated Hold 2A), a new spar deck to carry additional trailered containers, and 1,830 long tons of iron ore fixed ballast in one pair of double bottom tanks. Due to the lengthening and increase in cargo carrying capacity, the Coast Guard determined the mid-body insert to be a major conversion, which required the vessel to be brought up to current standards to the extent considered reasonable and practicable by the local Coast Guard OCMI. As part of the major conversion determination, the Coast Guard approved a request to have ABS conduct plan review and inspection on behalf of the Coast Guard. 58
Additionally, since the vessel was issued international certificates for foreign voyages and was
required to comply with SOLAS requirements, it was also directed that all modifications to the
vessel comply with the most recent SOLAS amendments (SOLAS 1974, as amended). This
included meeting new IMO probabilistic damage stability standards, among other SOLAS
amendments.
EL FARO completed another conversion in 2006 to carry lift-on/lift-off (LO/LO) container
stacks on the main deck to facilitate service between East Coast ports and Puerto Rico. The conversion, which also took place at Atlantic Marine Shipyard, included removal of the spar
deck, structural reinforcement of the main deck, addition of container support foundations and
structures, and an additional 4,875 long tons of iron ore fixed ballast in the remaining two
additional pairs of double bottom ballast tanks.
The Coast Guard Marine Safety Center (MSC) did not designate the 2005-2006 conversion
as a major conversion. According to available documentation regarding the determination, the
Coast Guard originally designated the proposed project as a major conversion in 2002. 59 The
Vice President for Marine Operations at TOTEM Ocean Trailer Express subsequently sent a
series of requests for reconsideration to the MSC explaining that the NORTHERN LIGHTS (EL
FARO) intended only to increase its container cargo volume, referred to as forty-foot equivalent units (FEU) and twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). In a reconsideration request letter dated March 22, 2004, VP for Marine Operations stated:
**A vessel’s cargo carrying capacity is defined by its load line and stability characteristics,**
not by an FEU or TEU number count. Further, I know of no international or U.S. safety
or environmental protection requirements that are based on TEU/FEU count…Only the
load line is the measure of capacity.
The MSC overturned its original determination in a November 8, 2004 letter that confirmed
EL FARO’s proposed conversion to a LO/LO configuration would not be treated as a major
conversion. Although earlier MSC letters had voiced concerns about the potential for an
increase to EL FARO’s cargo carrying capacity, the Coast Guard’s final non-major conversion
determination letter did not include any restrictions related to increasing cargo capacity during
the conversion. After the 2006 conversion, EL FARO’s total cargo loading capacity changed
and the vessel’s maximum allowable draft was increased by over 2-feet. The change also
reduced the vessel’s freeboard which lowered hull openings by the same distance. The MSC’s
decision to not classify the conversion as a major modification meant EL FARO was not
required to conform to applicable 2006 U.S. and international standards (e.g., CFR, ABS SVR,
and SOLAS) in conjunction with the conversion work.