[ad_1]
"A member of the crew sleeping in the wheelhouse berths was awakened by a noise and got up to investigate," the report says. "He saw a fire at the back of the sun deck, rising from the lounge compartment underneath.The crew member alerted the crew behind the wheelhouse. Crew woke up, the captain sent a distress message to the Coast Guard. "
Sumwalt said in an interview with CNN that the incident was a "horrible and horrible", calling this accident the most deadly sea accident for nearly 70 years and "d & # 39; the deadliest transport accident we've seen in a decade. "
"Part of the certificate of this vessel required the constant presence of a traveling supervisor to ensure the safety of the ship," Sumwalt said. "The interviews, to date, have indicated that the five surviving crew members were actually asleep by the time the fire broke out."
He added that the investigators had no way of knowing if another crew member and one of the passengers, who were all under the bridge and died, were awake.
An attorney from Truth Aquatics, owner of Design, said in a statement that a crew member had checked the area where the fire would have been concentrated shortly before it was over. declared himself lit, but did not indicate any evidence that the crew member had remained awake.
"We have testimonials that seem to contradict the notion that all the crew was asleep," said lawyer Douglas Schwartz in his statement. "We know that one crew member checked the kitchen area around 2:30 in the morning, about 30 minutes before the start of the fire."
The statement added that the company thinks the fire "was not caused by the operator, the boat or the crew, who acted heroically and did everything that was in his power to try to save the lives of passengers and their teammates. "
The report describes how the surviving crew members claim to have attempted to reach the entrances of the passenger cabin, while their path was "blocked by fire".
One crew member broke his leg and three crew members – including the captain – "swam in the back" to check if the engine room was on fire, but did not find any any.
The preliminary report did not identify the potential cause of the fire and did not make any recommendations for improving safety. The NTSB is generally waiting for its investigation to be completed to make recommendations.
Sumwalt said that the investigators' work is continuing, but that they "have not identified anything that can justify immediate corrective measures."
Small passenger and pleasure vessels
The fleet of commercial dive boats and yachts is aging due to a law of the 1920s requiring the construction of commercial vessels in the United States.
Marine firefighter expert Tom Guldner, a retired firefighter in New York and now president of Marine Firefighting Inc., has called this type of ship a "floating bomb" because they carry hundreds of gallons of fuel, but are prone to what this expert considered lax. security rules. Meanwhile, safety and fire experts warn that maritime regulations put passengers at risk.
Rod Jones, a California captain with 31 years of experience, said many boat rental companies could not afford the cost of building a new boat in the United States. As a result, ships are operated for as long as possible.
"You can not hire enough divers to make enough money to pay for the construction of these boats," Jones said.
"The system is so damaged that the public has become extremely dangerous," he said. "We talk about it all the time in the industry."
Experts are also concerned that standards that did not fit at the time – including the size of the exit hatches – have not been met – and that older boats can be protected by rights acquired in an unsafe manner.
The Coast Guard said that since Design's accident was still under investigation, she could not comment on any regulatory changes.
"It's too early in the design investigation to determine if there will be regulatory changes related to the passenger ship industry," said Lt. Amy Midgett at CNN in a statement. "The National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard will conduct thorough and detailed investigations to identify possible occasional factors associated with this tragedy."
Experts say the main fire hazards on board include fuel, engine, electrical components and any kitchen appliances if the vessel has a galley.
"The potential fire hazards on a ship are very similar to those of a residence," said Lawrence Russell of the National Fire Protection Association.
However, the similarities stop there.
"It's not as easy to find yourself in the front yard," said Guldner, a retired New York firefighter and now president of Marine Firefighting Inc.
The options are: "put out the fire or swim," he said.
This story has been updated.
[ad_2]
Source link