Investigators with the U.S. Coast Guard are on the brink of kick off the 9 days of hearings in the probe into the lack of the American cargo ship El Faro and its 33 crew members throughout Hurricane Joaquin in October. 

The first session of the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation hearings will concentrate on the pre-accident historic occasions referring to the loss, the regulatory compliance report of the El Faro, crewmember duties and {qualifications}, previous operations of the vessel and the Coast Guard’s Search and Rescue operations.

The Coast Guard says that the National Transportation Safety Board, which is conducting its personal investigation, will absolutely take part the hearings. 

The Coast Guard’s investigation seeks to decide as intently as potential any elements that contributed to the accident; whether or not there may be proof that any act of misconduct, inattention to obligation, negligence or willful violation of the legislation on the a part of any licensed or certificated individual contributed to the casualty; and whether or not there may be proof that any Coast Guard personnel or any consultant or worker of some other authorities company or some other individual prompted or contributed to the casualty.

The first session of the hearings will happen February 16 – 26 on the Prime F. Osborn Convention Center in Jacksonville, Florida, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, Monday via Friday. The hearings may even be dwell streamed on-line at http://livestream.com/elfaro.

There is a greater feed at http://www.actionnewsjax.com/live-stream. Exhibits for the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation listening to as they’re made out there may be discovered at http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doctype/4007/286370/.

A second listening to, at a later date to be decided, will study intimately the accident voyage, together with cargo loading, climate circumstances and navigation. 

The 40-year-old U.S.-flagged SS El Faro, owned by TOTE Maritime, went lacking close to the Bahamas on October 1, 2015 after crusing into the attention of Hurricane Joaquin throughout a routine voyage from Jacksonville, Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico. In the times that adopted, an exhaustive seek for survivors turned up empty and the Coast Guard declared the occasion a significant marine casualty. The 790-foot ship was finally situated by a U.S. Navy search crew in about 15,000 ft of water close to the Bahamas on October 31.

All 33 crew members, together with 28 Americans and 5 Polish contractors, have been misplaced within the sinking. 

RELATED: NTSB’s Preliminary Findings in El Faro Investigation