As the El Faro’s stability continued to be a central question, a former Master told investigators he had been asked to sail outside of stability guidelines before.
“I imagine it may have been asked, but I wouldn’t, because I know what I needed for my fuel burnoff and then I wanted a little extra for me,” says Captain Bror Eric Axelsson, who is now the Chief Mate of the SS Flickertail State in Newport News.
The first day of the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation's second hearing session on the sinking of the vessel focused largely on ship balance, with two Pilot Captains who led the El Faro out on her final departure saying there were no noticeable problems at that time. Axelsson then spoke at length about his experience while in the bridge of the ship.
FULL COVERAGE: Headlines from the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation
The vessels have stability guidelines to adhere to on a voyage, accounting for everything from fuel to cargo. Axelsson told investigators he had been asked before by El Faro's operator, TOTE Services, whether he would be willing to sail a little outside of those guidelines. Axelsson wasn't.
“He wouldn’t argue,” Axelsson says of the TOTE rep who would approach him.
“But he would ask,” questioned CGMBI Member Commander Matthew Denning.
“Yeah, he would call and ask, he would say ‘I just have to ask, I didn’t think you would,” Axelsson says.
When asked why TOTE would approach him about taking on more cargo, Axelsson told investigators he figured it was about increasing container traffic.
“Well that’s what we’re in the business for, to move cargo,” he says.
He emphasized again that he was never pressured to allow more cargo on, nor did he ever have to take cargo off after loading because too much had been put on. He also said he was never told to take off fuel in order to get on more cargo.
GALLERY: Inside the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation
Overall, Axelsson says there was a good safety culture in the company and he was allowed to use his judgement as Master about what was best for the ship and crew.
As a former Master, Axelsson also spoke to several other areas investigators have been focusing on, like weather routing tools, crew competency, and more. While he was asked repeatedly about what kind of guidelines are in place for routing for severe weather, Axelsson said he had never actually had to deal with bad weather while at sea.
Coast Guard investigators further tried to use Axelsson’s expertise to understand how El Faro’s crew may have been disbursed around the ship in the final moments before she sank. In recordings played during the last hearing, the Captain could be heard asking the Chief Mate what he was seeing.
AUDIO: El Faro's Captain describes "marine emergency"
The Board asked Axelsson what kinds of communication tools the crew had and what kind of reach they had to determine where on the ship the Chief Mate may have been while the Captain called in the distress. Axelsson said, while he had never had issues with the comms, he had never tested the range.
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