JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Records with the U.S. Coast Guard revealed the sister ship of sunken El Faro has a history of maintenance issues and had a worse record than El Faro.
El Yunque is nearly identical in structure and age to its lost sister ship.
Action News Jax obtained incident investigation reports showing in June, a "no sail" order was issued for El Yunque because of a "hazardous/unsafe condition."
The report said the problem stemmed from improper maintenance of the port lifeboat davit.
That order was later lifted.
Latest News Headlines from Action News
"A no sail order is very, very unusual," maritime attorney Rod Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the "no sail" order shows the ship was likely dealing with a high level of corrosion.
"The Coast Guard just felt it was too unsafe to even go to sea until those things had been fixed," Sullivan said.
Records show in 2013, the USCG listed an improper maintenance issue for El Yunque saying, "The port lifeboat davit motor casing and electrical connection box are heavily corroded."
Sullivan said because El Yunque is around 40 years old like El Faro, he does not believe the cargo vessel should ever be out to sea during a storm.
"If they're pointing out this type of corrosion and wastage that's easily visible, imagine those parts of the ship you can't easily see," Sullivan said.
For Action News on the go, sign up for Action News Mobile & Email alerts
TOTE, the owner of both El Faro and El Yunque, released the following statement:
"The NTSB has started their investigation process. Out of respect for our seafarers and for every seafarer here and around the world, it is critical that we understand what contributed to this accident. And to this end, we will not jeopardize the investigation by speculating on the events surrounding the sinking of the El Faro.
"TOTE's management is entirely focused on providing support and care to the families of the crew of the El Faro. That focus, combined with a respect for the NTSB investigation process, precludes our responding to your questions, a position we hope you will respect. We have been asked by the NTSB to refer questions that might be related to the investigation to them. Peter Knudson peter.knudson@ntsb.gov 202-314-6101. Thank you for your understanding."
WJAX
