The Sinking of the Steam Ship El Faro: Examining the Causal or Contributing Factors Related to the Risks of Tropical Weather That Contributed to the Tragedy (Invited Presentation)

The sinking of the cargo vessel El Faro while transiting through Hurricane Joaquin on October 1, 2015 was one of the most significant peacetime marine tragedies in the history of the United States merchant fleet. The ship’s voyage data recorder (VDR), which contained the audio recordings of the vessel’s navigation bridge conversations and other data, would provide clues to the complicated human factors and decisions that contributed to the tragedy.

The presentation will highlight selected comments from the navigation bridge conversations from the VDR transcript as well as the Formal Hearing testimony that prompted further examination of the human factors identified in the course of the Coast Guard investigation. The presentation will touch on the corporate decision-making to support the operation of this 791 foot vessel, the storm avoidance decisions including weather forecasting, weather software, and the crew’s perceptions of the behavior of the tropical systems. Some elements of the Formal Hearing testimony will be shared that directly relates to the key decisions relating to the accident voyage and the eventual loss of the 33 person crew and the vessel. This will include examples of ineffective risk management, effective considerations for lifesaving equipment, shipboard weather equipment and observations, the vessels unique vulnerabilities and the element of crew complacency. There will also be a brief discussion of the weather event for the large cruise vessel Anthem of the Seas which occurred after the loss of the El Faro which serves to highlight the risks to all vessels from these maritime weather events.

During the joint U. S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board investigations human factors investigators pieced clues together to independently arrive at the conclusions that spurred safety recommendations to prevent similar accidents in the future. Many proactive steps have been undertaken by the vessels operating company, the marine community and the supporting governmental agencies to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence of this tragedy.

An audio visual program will be used to facilitate this presentation.