Coast Guard to Suspend El Faro Search - NTSB to Lead Investigation

At a joint press conference this afternoon, the Coast Guard announced its plans to suspend its search efforts related to the loss of the El Faro container ship, after 7 days of active search efforts.  According to Coast Guard officials, the Coast Guard never had any direct contact with the missing vessel, but was only provided its approximate position at the time of the last contact between the vessel and the owner, TOTE Maritime.  Attempts to make contact with the ship by Air Force Hurricane Hunter Aircraft and other vessels in the general vicinity of the El Faro when it reported loss of power were unsuccessful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The NTSB also announced that although both it and the Coast Guard have authority to conduct marine casualty investigations, the NTSB would be the lead investigative agency and that under its investigative procedures, it would determine probable cause of the accident.  "Parties" to the NTSB investigation were named as the Coast Guard, the American Bureau of Shipping, and TOTE Maritime. 

 

A link to the NSTB page detailing its on-scene efforts for the investigation is attached here.

NTSB Releases Agenda for Crude by Rail Safety Forum

As a follow up to my prior post of March 6, 2014, here is the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) agenda for the April 22-23, 2014 Rail Safety Forum on Transportation of Crude Oil and Ethanol by rail.

The public meeting will be held at NTSB's Washington HQ and will also be available via webcast. Speaking at the meeting will be researchers, crude oil and ethanol shippers, tank car builders, rail carriers, emergency responders, and federal regulators. The presentations will cover current and proposed safety initiatives, including attempts to reduce the consequences of accidents involving crude and ethanol via tank car design, operating practices, and emergency preparedness.

NTSB Schedules Crude/Ethanol by Rail Safety Forum for April

It seems as though I may need to rename this blog "Crude by Rail Today," but the news continues to pour in for this hot topic in transportation safety.

Today, the NTSB announced it will hold a two-day public forum at its Washington, DC headquarters on April 22-23, 2014. The forum "Rail Safety: Transportation of Crude Oil and Ethanol" will cover DOT-111 tank car design, construction and crashworthiness, rail operations and risk management strategies, emergency response challenges, and the ever-popular federal oversight.

The Board states a detailed agenda is forthcoming and will be available on the NSTB web site, www.ntsb.gov.

NY Rep. Proposes Funding for PTC in Wake of Metro-North Accident

Positive Train Control, and the current statutory deadline for railroads to implement the technology of December 31, 2015, is once again front and center news following the December 1 Metro-North commuter rail accident. The accident, apparently caused by a speeding train, caused 4 deaths and dozens of injuries.

Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) has proposed new legislation titled the "Commuter Rail Passenger Safety Act" in a recent press release. The proposed legislation has not been released, but is intended to assist commuter rail lines in implementing PTC.

Specifically, the proposed law would provide access to Federal Railroad Administration loan guarantees under its Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing program (RRIF), which provides both direct loans and loan guarantees. Also, the law proposes reauthorizing the Railroad Safety Technology Grant Program, which fell victim to the recent budget battles and expired on October 1, 2013.

Other news related to the Metro-North accident, is the NTSB's revocation of "Party Status" to the investigation of the union which represents the train's engineer. The NTSB removed the Association of Commuter Rail Employees (ACRE) from the investigation for discussing details of the on-going investigation, a violation of the NSTB's "Party Agreement." This NTSB press release explains.

Prior the recent Metro-North accident, there seemed to be consensus that not all railroads would meet the December 2015 PTC deadline, with the GAO recommending that Congress permit the FRA to grant case-by-case extensions and approve alternative technologies (see my post of 9/17/13 on the GAO's report here). In the post Metro-North environment, the question is whether significant extensions to the current PTC deadline will be granted or not.

NTSB Recommends Railroads Monitor for Electronic Device Use by Crews

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)recommended today that the railroad industry "use technology-based solutions to detect the presence of signal-emitting electronic devices and that inform railroad management about the detected devices in real time." The recommendations are R-13-5 through R-13-8 (attached here) which were issued following the Board's investigation of a September 2010 train collision between two Canadian National trains in Minnesota. The Board's recommendations call for the use of sensing equipment to report use of electronic devices by crew members to rail management. The most recent recommendations are related to 49 CFR part 220 which prohibits the use of personal electronic devices by train crews. The Board also reiterated prior recommendations to the rail industry dating to 2010 covering the installation of video equipment in train cabs to verify and monitor crew compliance with rules and procedures - classifying the state of these recommendations as "Open- Unacceptable Response." It is likely today's recommendations will not be popular with rail labor, however it should be remembered that there was resistance to forward facing video equipment on locomotives some years past. That resistance has moderated as both railroad and train crews have seen the value of video evidence of crossing accidents, which often implicate drivers in accidents.

NTSB Postive Train Control Forum Agenda Released

As follow up to my earlier post on the NTSB's planned February 27 Positive Train Control forum, the Board released the Agenda for the meeting as well as information on the speakers/panelists, which are linked here for review.

NTSB Issues Rail Safety Recommendations Following 2009 Ethanol Derailment

On March 2, 2012, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), issued 15 Rail Safety recommendations related to the June 19, 2009 CN derailment in Cherry Valley, Illinois. In the accident,13 of the 19 derailed ethanol tank cars were breached and caught fire, causing one fatality and several injuries.

The Board had previously determined the probable cause of the derailment was a washout of the track structure discovered before the arrival of the train which derailed. The Board's recommendations range from advising railroads and public entities to assess trackside stormwater drainage, to tank car integrity and crashworthiness improvements.

Among the recommendations related to rail tank cars, are the Board's recommendations that existing DOT-111 tank cars carrying ethanol be retrofitted to improve shell puncture resistance and prevent exposed valve fittings from opening in an accident. (R12-6 - R12-8).

The call to retrofit some 40,000 in service tank cars carrying ethanol is likely to be controversial, given the conservative estimate of the Railway Supply Institute of the retrofitting to be $1 billion dollars.

The Recommendations, which are not mandatory, are attached here:

R-12-1 & 2

R-12-3 and 4, reiteration of R-07-2

R-12-5 through 8, reiteration of R-07-4

R-12-9

R-12-10

R-12-11

R-12-12 through 15

NTSB finds USCG Boat was speeding in fatal crash

On JULY 12, 20011 the National Transportation Safety Board announced its probable cause findings in a collision between a Coast Guard patrol boat and a recreational boat in San Diego in December 2009. The Collision killed an 8-year old passenger in the boat that was struck from behind by the patrol craft. Here is the NTSB press release announcing the findings. The incident occurred during an annual holiday boating event while the USCG crew was responding to a report of a grounded boat. The Board found the collision was due to the "excessive speed of the Coast Guard boat in nighttime conditions in an areas of high vessel density, and the Coast Guard's ineffective oversight of its small boat operations nationally and at Coast Guard Station San Diego.

Also noted in the press release was the refusal of 3 of the 5 crew members of the USCG boat to be interviewed by the NTSB, including the operator. Prior news reports from San Diego papers noted the boat operator was convicted by a Court Martial of a single count of dereliction of duty, resulting in a 3 month sentence in March 2011. The operator originally faced charges of involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, and aggravated assault.

Welcome to Transportation Law Today

Welcome to the inaugural post of Transportation Law Today! My name is Paul Loftus and I am a transportation attorney with 13 years experience in litigating transportation matters. In my practice, and in my daily information reading, I often come across items of interest to transportation entities. In particular, I follow regulatory developments in surface transportation (rail, highway, marine), as well as legal developments affecting the industry. I hope to share interesting information with the transportation community through this blog and I look forward to hearing from the "blogoshere" out there.

Please remember this blog does not constitute legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.

1. Surface Transportation Board ends Common Carrier Toxic by Inhalation Hazard Committee Process

In an April 15, 2011 decision by the entire board, the Surface Transportation Board, the independent economic regulatory agency that regulates rail rates and disputes (among other things), terminated its process to create a "Toxic by Inhalation Hazard Common Carrier Transportation Advisory Committee." See decision here.

The TIH committee process was initiated to provide advice to the Board on issues related to the common carrier obligation of railroads to carry hazardous materials, and the issue of potential indemnity for carrying haz-mats. As explained in the Board decision, concerns about anti-trust liability by committee participants, and a "sharp difference of opinion" between railroad and shipper interests as to the Board's authority to regulate liability for common carrier shipments led to the demise of the effort.

2. National Transportation Safety Board Issues (NTSB) 10 Most-Wanted Safety Improvement List

On June 23, 2011, the NTSB issued its latest 10 Most-Wanted Safety Improvements list. Among the areas covered are promoting pilot and air traffic controller professionalism, addressing human fatigue, and requiring on board image and data recorders on trains.

Have a happy Fourth of July Weekend. - PJL.