by Russ » November 10, 2017, 9:32 pm
Richard A. Feldtz, hull supervisor of the Columbia Transportation division of Oglebay Norton, testified at the U. S. Coast Guard Board of Inquiry on 24 November 1975. He said he had inspected the Fitzgerald hull 15 times during 1975, including a spar deck inspection on 21 October 1975, just 11 days before the Fitzgerald was lost on Lake Superior. During the last inspection, the Coast Guard Marine Inspection Office and the American Bureau of Shipping had found four "minor irregularities. The defects were considered minor and the company was given until 1 April 1976 to repair them. [The "defects" were gaps of up to one inch between a couple of hatch coamings and the hatch covers.] At the same Inquiry, Feldtz said the Fitzgerald was to have made two more trips before the end of the shipping season and the defects were to be repaired during winter drydock. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tuesday 25 November 1975.
Richard A. Feldtz, hull supervisor of the Columbia Transportation division of Oglebay Norton, testified at the U. S. Coast Guard Board of Inquiry on 24 November 1975. He said he had inspected the Fitzgerald hull 15 times during 1975, including a spar deck inspection on 21 October 1975, just 11 days before the Fitzgerald was lost on Lake Superior. During the last inspection, the Coast Guard Marine Inspection Office and the American Bureau of Shipping had found four "minor irregularities. The defects were considered minor and the company was given until 1 April 1976 to repair them. [The "defects" were gaps of up to one inch between a couple of hatch coamings and the hatch covers.] At the same Inquiry, Feldtz said the Fitzgerald was to have made two more trips before the end of the shipping season and the defects were to be repaired during winter drydock. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tuesday 25 November 1975.