A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator said the loss of the ro-ro El Faro represents a “colossal management failure”.

But a high-level executive for owner TOTE Maritime said at a public hearing today that he can see no failure that caused the October sinking, which killed all 33 crew members on board.

The exchange between NTSB lead investigator Tom Roth-Roffy and TOTE executive vice president Peter Keller took place in the second round of Coast Guard hearings into the casualty.