USCG EL FARO hearings part tre

Professional Mariner Forum
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we knew they were coming but will anything new be asked of anybody?

[B]El Faro recorder data to be examined at third Coast Guard hearing[/B]

By Kirk Moore on September 8, 2016

Data retrieved from the sunken El Faro’s voyage data recorder will be examined in a third round of hearings before a Coast Guard marine board of investigation this winter, as the fact-finding continues into the loss of the 790’ ro/ro containership ship and all 33 crew in Hurricane Joaquin last year.

“This final hearing session is anticipated to conclude the fact-finding phase of the investigation. Once the Coast Guard’s fact finding is completed, the MBI will shift to the analysis phase and work independently from the National Transportation Safety Board’s concurrent investigation,” according to a statement from the Coast Guard Thursday.

The hearing likely will be scheduled for this winter, the Coast Guard said. Once the board completes its report, it will be submitted to the Coast Guard commandant for review, final determinations on safety recommendations, and public release.

Three search efforts over 10 months after the Oct. 1 sinking finally yielded the voyage data recorder. A team on the 226’x42’x15’ Navy fleet tug Apache maneuvered the CURV-21, a deep ocean remotely operated underwater vehicle, 15,000′ down to recover the VDR, using specialized tools to remove the VDR from the ship’s bridge mast structure.

Like flight data recorders on commercial aircraft, VDRs can record navigational data, voice communications on the bridge, and other data to assist in reconstructing accidents. The El Faro VDR has been undergoing analysis by the National Transportation Safety Board. Audio from the recorder will not be publicly released, and a transcript account will be prepared to tell the VDR’s story, Brian Curtis of the NTSB Office of Marine Safety said in August.

of course, my answer is that I seriously doubt it with the lousy recording quality and the lack to ask hard questions it the previous hearings

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This is what the NTSB has said is on the VDR:

The recording began about 5:37 a.m., Sept. 30, 2015 – about 8 hours after the El Faro departed Jacksonville, Florida, with the ship about 150 nautical miles southeast of the city. The bridge audio from the morning of Oct. 1, captured the master and crew discussing their actions regarding flooding and the vessel’s list. The vessel’s loss of propulsion was mentioned on the bridge audio about 6:13 a.m. Also captured was the master speaking on the telephone, notifying shoreside personnel of the vessel’s critical situation,

It sounds like the captain’s phone calls to the DPA were captured, presumably clearly enough to be understood. One of the bridge VDR microphones may have been near the phone.

It may be that the one call that was not recorded shoreside will match more or less the DPA’s notes. However it has been said on this forum that there is 100% certainty that the reason the propulsion failure was discussed in that call. If that’s the case the specific cause of the loss of propulsion will be discussed at the third hearing.

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From your mouth to God’s ear Cap.

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I would hope that there will be some audible responses to the engineering casualty- i.e. conversation between capt. and cheng…that was picked up by microphone.