Despite stability guidelines, El Faro fuel tanks routinely left slack

As ship stability again took center stage in the special investigation in to the El Faro sinking, a former Chief Mate says they routinely ignored a step that could have helped keep the vessel steady.

Multiple witnesses have told the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation that El Faro typically left slack in fuel tanks. Thursday, investigators asked former El Faro Chief Mate Jamie Torres- who is now a Second Mate with TOTE Services- whether full tanks could have increased the low weight on the ship, and therefore its stability.

Torres says full fuel tanks would have meant more stability, and in fact that was the standard outlined in the El Faro’s “Trim and Stability” manual.

He says they didn’t use full fuel tanks because, primarily, they weren’t needed for the trip- even when adding a substantial cushion to accommodate any unforeseen circumstances. Of the amount of fuel that was needed, Torres says they would distribute it among the fuel tanks, which left slack in them. While full tanks could have meant more stability, Torres says their cargo loading software accounted for all of the variables the slack tanks added.

GALLERY: Inside the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation on El Faro sinking

With the cargo loading software, specifically, Torres also confirmed what prior witnesses have said- there was a consistent disparity between the readout of the software and real conditions on a few of the measures, like list. He says he brought the inconsistency to the Captain, who told the TOTE representative who dealt with the software.   The rep knew and accounted for the disparity, and whenever they left the ship was always centered and sturdy, according to Torres.

That disparity has been a question on a few occasions through this investigation. The TOTE Services rep who typically handles the cargo loading software says he knows about the difference, but doesn’t necessarily have it written in a manual anywhere. The Board questioned how he ensures others handling the software know about the disparity as well, and the rep said it’s talked about. With the El Faro, however, there have been concerns raised about the high turnover in the Chief Mate position- which is the on-board review of the final cargo data ahead of sailing.

Another former El Faro Chief Mate, Bryan Vagts, told the Board Wednesday that he never felt rushed by the Captain to take the needed time to review the cargo data before the ship sailed out.

There was at least one occasion where Torres remembers getting to San Juan from Jacksonville with a much lower than standard measure on a stability metric. He says there were measures they could take at sea to rectify that, but in his time they did not. He says he never felt concerned about the metric- ultimately it was the Captain and TOTE Services who determined the limits on the measures by which they could sail.

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