A former master of a TOTE Maritime vessel says he was "disappointed" with the company's response to a safety concern.

Captain Jack Hearn said he was master of the Saltchuk subsidiary's 5,330-lane-metre ro-ro El Morro (built 1974) when he urged the company to report holes on the ship to authorities.

He made the comments during a US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) hearing into the sinking of El Morro's sistership, El Faro (built 1975).

TOTE's