TOTE settles with three more El Faro victims’ families

A total of 21 families of crew members from the ill-fated cargo vessel, which sank near Crooked Island, Bahamas Oct. 1 after sailing into the path of Hurricane Joaquin, have now accepted financial settlements with operator TOTE Maritime.    TOTE Maritime has negotiated financial settlements with three more families of crew members who were killed when the general cargo vessel El Faro sank near Crooked Island, Bahamas last October, according to a report from the Associated Press.
   The families of Frank Hamm III, James Phillip Porter Jr. and Roosevelt Lazarra Clark are the latest to settle, accepting $500,000 each for pain and suffering, plus an undisclosed amount for economic losses.
   The El Faro lost propulsion and sank on Oct. 1 along with all 33 people on board after sailing into the path of category 4 Hurricane Joaquin while en route from Jacksonville, Fla. to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
   The ship’s owner and operator, TOTE Maritime, has now settled with a total of 21 of the victims’ families.
   The latest settlement agreements come just a few days after the conclusion of the second round of U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation hearings into the incident. The MBI heard testimony from TOTE officials and employees, along with vessel safety and maintenance professionals, members of the Coast Guard, and weather experts in an attempt to identify any potential illegal or otherwise negligent conduct in the disaster.
   Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board in April discovered the El Faro’s voyage data recorder, or “black box,” under 15,000 feet of water, but did not have the equipment needed to recover it. The NTSB plans to return to the site with more specialized equipment, but said recovering the VDR in those conditions presents a “formidable challenge.”