Sec. 202. Findings
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Congress finds the following: On September 29, 2015, the SS El Faro cargo vessel left Jacksonville, Florida bound for San Juan, Puerto Rico, carrying 391 shipping containers, 294 trailers and cars, and a crew of 33 people, including 28 Americans. On the morning of October 1, the El Faro sent its final communication reporting that the engines were disabled and the ship was listing, leaving the ship directly in the path of Hurricane Joaquin and resulting in the sinking of the vessel and the loss of all 33 lives.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard made recommendations to address safety issues, such as improving weather information and training, improving planning and response to severe weather, reviewing the Coast Guard's program delegating vessel inspections to third-party organizations to assess the effectiveness of the program, and improving alerts and equipment on the vessels, among other recommendations. Safety issues are not limited to the El Faro. For 2017, over 21,000 deficiencies were issued to United States commercial vessels and more than 2,500 U.S. vessels were issued no-sail requirements.
The maritime industry, particularly the men and women of the United States merchant marine, play a vital and important role to the national security and economy of our country, and a strong safety regime is necessary to ensure the vitality of the industry and the protection of current and future mariners, and to honor lost mariners.