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A Coast Guard report released Sunday says the primary cause of the 2015 sinking of the cargo ship El Faro, which killed all 33 aboard, was the captain underestimating the strength of a hurricane and overestimating the ship’s strength.
The report said Capt. Michael Davidson should have changed the El Faro’s route between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, to avoid Hurricane Joaquin’s 150 mph (240 kph) winds. When the 790-foot (240-meter) vessel got stuck he should have taken more aggressive measures to save it.
Speaking at a news conference in Jacksonville, Florida, Capt. Jason Neubauer also said the Coast Guard would have sought to revoke Davidson’s license if he had survived.
Davidson “was ultimately responsible for the vessel, the crew and its safe navigation,” said Neubauer, who chaired the investigation.
He said Davidson “misjudged the path of Hurricane Joaquin and overestimated the vessel’s heavy weather survivability while also failing to take adequate precautions to monitor and prepare for heavy weather. During critical periods of navigation … he failed to understand the severity of the situation, even when the watch standards warned him the hurricane was intensifying.”
Davidson, 53, was recorded telling a crew member a few hours before the sinking, “There’s nothing bad about this ride. I was sleepin’ like a baby. This is every day in Alaska,” where he had previously worked.
The report also says the ship’s owner, TOTE Maritime Inc., had not replaced a safety officer, spreading out those duties among other managers, and had violated regulations regarding crew rest periods and working hours. The Coast Guard said it will seek civil actions against TOTE but no criminal penalties as there was no criminal intent.
TOTE Maritime released a statement Sunday saying the report “is another piece of this sacred obligation that everyone who works upon the sea must study and embrace. The report details industry practices which need change.”
The 40-year-old El Faro went down on Oct. 1, 2015, sinking in 15,000 feet (4,570 meters) of water to the sea floor near the Bahamas. No bodies were ever recovered. It was the worst maritime disaster for a U.S.-flagged vessel since 1983.
Voice recordings recovered from the ship show an increasingly panicked and stressed crew fighting to save the ship after it lost propulsion as they battled wind, shifting cargo and waves.
Davidson ordered the ship abandoned shortly before it sank but its open air lifeboats likely would have provided insufficient protection, the Coast Guard said. The agency said it would recommend that all ships now be equipped with modern enclosed lifeboats — if the El Faro had such lifeboats, the crew may have survived, Neubauer said.
El Faro was one of two ships owned by TOTE Maritime Inc. that navigated in constant rotation on shipping runs between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. It brought everything from milk to Mercedes Benzes to the island.
Other findings included:
— A few weeks before the accident, TOTE stopped employing in port helpers who assisted its ships’ crews to safely load cargo. The Coast Guard said the El Faro’s crew had difficulty keeping up with the pace needed to get the ship out on schedule. A manager at the port took a photo of the El Faro the day before its final launch because unbalanced loading had caused it to lean heavily to one side, more than he had ever seen. He alerted stevedores, who added containers to the other side to rebalance the ship.
— When the El Faro departed Jacksonville the oil level in its main engine was below the manufacturer’s recommendation although still within the range for operation. That became crucial when the El Faro began leaning in the storm as the oil level no longer reached the pump. That starved the engine, shutting it down. The loss of propulsion left the El Faro helpless against Joaquin and its waves.
— Four of the five Polish workers who had been temporarily assigned to the El Faro spoke little English and none of them had been briefed on safety procedures. The wife of one of the men told investigators “he had never seen or worked on a hulk like this” and that as he worked, rust would fall into his eyes.
— A weather prediction system that would have sent emailed updates about Joaquin to Davidson had not been activated.
— Less than six hours before the El Faro sank Second Mate Danielle Randolph, who was in charge of safety, was recorded telling another crew member that drills were not taken seriously. She added that crew members rarely try on their survival suits to make sure they fit. As the ship was going down and Davidson ordered the ship abandoned, Randolph was heard leaving the bridge to find life vests either because none were stored there as required or she didn’t know where they were.
— The National Hurricane Center should re-evaluate the effectiveness of its forecasts for storms that may not make landfall but may impact ships.
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Writer Jason Dearen in Gainesville, Florida, contributed to this report.
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DENVER — Melvin Gordon, Ezekiel Elliott, LeSean McCoy and now Marshawn Lynch.
This otherwise fearsome foursome — an enviable group of running backs that collectively rushed for nearly 4,000 yards and 38 touchdowns last season even with Lynch on a one-year hiatus — has been bruised, battered, bombarded and bulldozed by the Broncos in 2017 .
Denver limited Lynch to a dozen yards on nine carries Sunday in a 16-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders, who gained just 24 yards on the ground.
“Our run defense has been stout the entire year,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. “So, I have been very proud of how those guys have played the run. With a back like that and an offensive line like that, that’s really special, 24 yards.”
Nose tackle Domata Peko, the gem of Denver’s offseason free-agent additions, marveled, “We’re going against guys who have been to Pro Bowls and we’re shutting them down. It’s been great. Big shout-out to the defensive line and the front seven. Shout out to our defense, because stopping the run is not just up front, it’s the whole team. This defense is playing great.”
Together, Gordon, Elliott, McCoy and Lynch managed a measly 96 yards on 49 carries for a 1.9-yard average and zero touchdowns against the Broncos (3-1).
“That’s really four special backs and really four special offensive lines,” Joseph said. “Our run defense has been really stout.”
Joseph noted the additions of Peko, Zack Kerr and Ahtyba Rubin along with a change in coaching philosophy have been the big difference this season.
Broncos running back C.J. Anderson, who led Denver’s 143-yard rushing effort with 95 yards on 20 carries, saw something special in training camp as Joseph and new coordinator Joe Woods installed a more aggressive run defense.
Anderson said Denver’s linebackers “are playing the run completely different this year.”
“I’m not going to go into detail and give up how they’re playing the run, we’ll let you guys figure that out … but they play the run completely different this year and I think that’s what’s helping them,” Anderson said. “I noticed that maybe the first three or four days in training camp because of the way they were making us cut.”
OK, so here’s what Denver’s doing differently:
Peko replaced Sylvester Williams and is playing the same responsible, consistently good defense he did all those years in Cincinnati. He’s never getting his hips turned and he’s absolutely eating up double teams.
Inside linebackers Todd Davis and Brandon Marshall are playing closer to the line of scrimmage on early downs, attacking the ball instead of inching back in the read-and-react style they played under former defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
This means the guards have to account for the linebackers and that, in turns, means defensive ends Derek Wolfe and Adam Gotsis are getting way fewer double teams than they used to.
Add outside linebackers Von Miller and Shaq Barrett pinching the edges and keeping the backs from bouncing outside.
Of course, they’re able to load the box because cornerbacks Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby can cover anyone 1-on-1.
The result is that since ever Gordon reeled off a 21-yard run on his first carry in the opener, the Broncos have allowed opponents’ lead backs a paltry 1.5 yards per carry.
Denver’s inability to stuff the run last season defanged their famed “No Fly Zone” secondary and premier pass rush and ushered in an end to their five-year playoff run.
It’s what’s guiding their turnaround this season.
“I think the energy and culture is different” this year, Miller suggested.
The Broncos have manhandled two of the best offensive lines in wins over the Raiders (2-2) and Cowboys in a three-week span.
“We just have the mindset that we don’t care if they’re the best,” Barrett said. “We want to be the best defense, and in order for us to be the best defense, we have to take out all the top dogs on offense. We have those guys on our schedule, so we can prove against the top offensive lines that we are great.”
Notes: In addition to QB Derek Carr (back), Raiders CB David Amerson left the game with a concussion.
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