[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 1432-1433]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HEEDING HURRICANE WARNINGS

  Mr. NELSON. Madam President, hurricanes can be deadly. We are 
accustomed to them in Florida. They are part of our lifestyle. We know 
enough about hurricanes and the ferociousness and strength of Mother 
Nature to know that when a hurricane starts bearing down, you better be 
prepared, and that is especially so with regard to boats. Hurricanes 
cause giant-sized waves and strong winds that make it impossible to 
navigate a boat. So when the forecast calls for a hurricane, boats 
ought to get out of the way.
  Sadly, last year the El Faro, a cargo vessel that sailed from 
Jacksonville to Puerto Rico and back, along with its sister ship, 
sailed right into a hurricane off the Bahamas. As a result, the last 
call to shore, although the captain's voice was calm, was to report 
that they had lost power and were therefore listing, which meant that 
something had been breached and water was coming into the ship. That 
was the last we heard from the captain. We now know that that ship is 5 
miles below the surface of the Atlantic, on the eastern side of the 
Bahama Islands. Thirty-three people lost their lives, most of whom were 
from the Jacksonville, FL, area. The National Transportation Safety 
Board is conducting an investigation, and the question is whether or 
not they are going to put down another U.S. Navy submersible so they 
can continue their search for the recorder that would give them the 
complete data from the ship.
  I am bringing this up again because the very same thing almost 
happened yesterday, only this time a 4,000-passenger cruise ship, 
sailing from the New York area to Port Canaveral, FL, and then on to 
other destinations in the Caribbean, sailed right into a hurricane that 
had winds topping 100 miles per hour.
  I wish I had a blowup of the image of these hurricanes to show the 
Senate. Yesterday's storm was right off the coast of North and South 
Carolina. When these two images are compared side by side, we can see 
how yesterday's storm is similar to Hurricane Isabel. They look 
menacingly similar. The thing about yesterday's storm is that it was 
forecasted for days. So why in the world would a cruise ship with 
thousands of passengers on it go sailing right into it?
  Some of the passengers have made comments, including Robert Huschka, 
executive editor of the Detroit Free Press, who was a passenger on the 
cruise. He said: ``I am not going to lie. It was truly terrifying.''
  Passengers talked about how the water was coming into the upper 
decks. The pictures that were taken by the passengers on the ship speak 
for themselves. I am sure there was a courageous crew on board, but the 
question is: Why, after what happened to the El Faro last year, did it 
sail into the storm? Even if they were surprised by the change of the 
direction of the storm, which is what happened with the hurricane last 
year, why in the world would a ship go anywhere close to where the 
hurricane could be, particularly as the storm starts to cross the warm 
waters of the Gulf Stream, and, therefore, gets all the more fuel for 
the counterclockwise rotation of the winds from the warm water?
  I want the National Transportation Safety Board, over which the 
Senate Commerce Committee has some jurisdiction--of which I have the 
privilege of being the ranking member--to come up with a quick report.
  Now, thank goodness, that so far only four passengers were reported 
injured and no one was killed. That ship is now returning to port back 
in the New York area. Thank goodness there was not much damage, and 
that it is seaworthy. But the question is, When there is a storm 
brewing, why are mistakes made just like what happened to the El Faro? 
Before it left the Port of Jacksonville, they knew that a hurricane was 
coming.
  We need to know what happened in this case as well so we can prevent 
these kinds of accidents that could be so tragic in the future.
  The Senate Commerce Committee has oversight of the National 
Transportation Safety Board, and I want them to come up with answers 
very quickly and make an admonition to Americans that when a storm is 
brewing, you don't go out of port.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cassidy). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.

[[Page 1433]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coats). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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