El Faro crew families pay tribute, hope for change

Through the public portion of the investigation of the El Faro sinking so far, some crew family members have sat in the front row, watching and listening through the dozens of witnesses who have testified.

Friday, that changed.

“It’s to put a face on it, it’s not just a statistic. 33 people are dead, and it’s brothers, it’s sisters, it’s sons, it’s fathers,” says Glen Jackson, the brother of El Faro crew member Jack Jackson.

More than a dozen photos of the El Faro crew were placed in the front row, and during one of the breaks in the testimony, the family members gathered behind their loved ones, and the room fell silent in tribute.

“I have full confidence the Coast Guard and the NTSB have the same gravity of the situation that the family members feel, it’s just for the other participants, to make them understand also,” Jackson says.

GALLERY:  El Faro crew photos line Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation hearing session front row

This two-week Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation hearing session is the third and final one taking place on the sinking. Representatives from TOTE Inc., the American Bureau of Shipping, Herbert Engineering, and next of kin of Captain Michael Davidson have all been designated as interested parties in the investigation, and have therefore been able to participate in questioning witnesses.

Frank Pusatere says his wife chose the photo of their son, Richard, that they would display- one of him in an engine room, smiling.

“It’s a testament to the engineers, they care. And that’s their equipment. And nobody’s going to sell them short, because they love it, and he loved his ship,” he says.

Richard would sail for months at a time, including stretches on bulk freighters bringing food aid to third world countries. Frank says Richard would only do steam plants, because he believed that was the only position deserving of a true engineer's title.

“He found out that he didn’t just like his job, he loved his job,” Frank says.

This hearing session is different than the prior two, because it's the first public vetting of the El Faro's Voyage Data Recorder, or black box. Jackson says- just from what he's read and heard so far in the questioning- the transcript of the VDR recordings has given important information. Conversations captured on the bridge include Jack Jackson talking about having his survival gear ready.

“My brother was a very squared away sailor, to use the term. And not only that, he had great respect for the sea. He never took any of these drills lightly, he was a very ready man in all these things,” Glen says.

The NTSB is participating in the MBI, but the two entities will issue separate findings and potential recommendations at the conclusion.

“We obviously know that our loved ones are not going to come back, however if there were any deficiencies that were found, and oversight of complacency that was found, there has to be mechanisms put in place to prevent that from happening again, because there were just too many oversights in one incident,” Pusatere says.

As the family members stood behind the photos, many were also wearing memorial t-shirts. The sister of Howard Schoenly has hand-painted wooden anchors with the crew names for each family, the union halls, and the ship itself. The father of LaShawn Rivera has set up a foundation to help families heal after a tragedy. One of the local union halls has set up a memorial on their Southside campus. The City of Jacksonville has put up a memorial near the St. Johns River.

GALLERY:  Tributes shown through second Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation hearing session

There’s no shortage of tributes that have come in the sixteen months since El Faro sank. What the families are truly hoping for, though, is change.

“Anybody that goes to work on the water faces a certain inherent danger, but hopefully, after this is all thorough, other dangers that are not just inherent in going to work on the sea can be minimized to the greatest extent possible,” Jackson says.

WOKV will continue to follow the latest from the MBI. Get instant updates on Twitter.