El Faro owner seeks to block lawsuits from victims' families

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The owner of El Faro, a cargo ship likely sunk after it disappeared off the coast of the Bahamas, filed a lawsuit blocking families of the boat's victims from seeking legal action against the company.

TOTE Maritime filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court of Middle Florida, seeking "exoneration from or limitation of liability" in lawsuits filed by the victims' families.

It was presumed all 33 crew members aboard El Faro died when the vessel disappeared Oct. 1 as it traveled into the path of Hurricane Joaquin en route to Puerto Rico. The remains of one body was recovered, along with some pieces of debris from the ship.

TOTE Maritime said it exercised due diligence to make sure the vessel was seaworthy and that its crew were properly trained, the complaint said. It said the boat's master had monitored the movements of the hurricane and had altered the ship's course in response to the storm.

The company should be "(exonerated) from liability for any and all losses or damages sustained during the voyage ... and from any and all claims for damages that have been or may hereafter be made," the lawsuit says.

Four families have filed lawsuits against TOTE, alleging the ship had a checkered maintenance history and accusing those in charge of negligence for traveling toward the hurricane's path.

TOTE's lawsuit was filed two days before the U.S. Navy announced it found the wreckage of a cargo ship believed to be El Faro. Investigators using underwater detection equipment located a vessel at a depth of about 15,000 feet in an area where the El Faro was last known to be.

"The target identified by Orion (sonar) is consistent with a 790-foot cargo ship, which from sonar images appears to be in an upright position and in one piece," the National Transportation Safety Board said.

The NTSB, which is investigating the disappearance, contracted with the Navy to locate the ship and document the wreckage and debris field. Authorities said they will send equipment to the wreckage in an effort to locate the voyage data recorder, or black box, to learn what happened.

"If the vessel is confirmed to be El Faro, CURVE-21 (sonar), outfitted with a video camera will start the documentation of the vessel and the debris field and attempt to locate and recover the voyage data recorder," the NTSB said. "Those operations are expected to take up to 15 days to complete in ideal conditions but could take longer depending on weather and conditions encountered during the documentation process."