Excerpts from Maritime Executive:
On Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation for the loss of the El Faro continued its inquiry with questions for her operator’s management team on the firm’s safety, weather routing and personnel policies.
The first testimony of the day came from Rear Admiral Philip Greene, Jr. (retired), president and CEO of TOTE Services. …
Admiral Greene emphasized that TOTE Services does not possess vessel assets, and that the El Faro was owned by TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, a separate entity he described as a third-party client. NTSB lead investigator Tom Roth-Roffy told Admiral Greene that the panel was confused by the multiple subsidiaries of the Saltchuk-owned TOTE group of companies, which include TOTE Inc., TOTE Services Inc., TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, TOTE Maritime Alaska and TOTE Shipholdings.“It seems to me like Admiral Greene is trying to distance himself and his company from TOTE Puerto Rico, while at the same time saying that they share the same office,” maritime attorney Rod Sullivan told local media. Mr. Sullivan represents one of the remaining families with open lawsuits filed against TOTE over the deaths of the El Faro’s crew.
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