JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Testimony in the Coast Guard’s third and final investigative hearing into the sinking of the cargo ship El Faro will focus on the ship’s stability and the audio contained on the vessel’s voyage data recorder.
A moment of silence for the 33 crew members, including four Mainers, lost at sea was held before Monday’s hearing in Jacksonville started.
The hearing was conducted by the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation and will be the final public hearing before the agency issues its findings.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the maritime disaster, but will issue a separate report, according to spokesman Peter Knudson.
Capt. Jason Neubauer, chairman of the Marine Board of Investigation, told the panel and audience that he listened to all 26 hours of audio contained on the cargo ship’s voyage data recorder. Neubauer said listening to the conversations between crew members during their final moments was difficult and emotional.
The voice of Capt. Michael Davidson of Windham can be heard telling his crew to get into their immersion suits and throw rafts into the water as the ship started to sink.
Capt. Raymond Thompson, a former chief mate on the El Faro, testified Monday that he was not sure if life jackets were stored on the bridge as required.
Thompson was also questioned about reports that crew members of the El Faro were exhausted from having to work long shifts without sleep, WCSH-TV in Portland reported.
The 790-foot El Faro sank on Oct. 1, 2015, after losing propulsion in a hurricane while traveling from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico. All 33 aboard died.
Among the dead were four Mainers: Davidson; Michael Holland, 25, of Wilton; and Danielle Randolph, 34, and Dylan Meklin, 23, both of Rockland.
A fellow graduate of Maine Maritime Academy was also among those who died: Mitchell Kuflik, 26, of Brooklyn, New York.
The hearing will last two weeks, after which the Coast Guard will issue a report.
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