Authorities have said there’s no evidence of any hazardous materials spilled in this accident, but that’s just one example of what the FBI could investigate, said Lawrence Brennan, a professor of maritime law at Fordham University’s School of Law.

“I’m speculating — I have no knowledge,” Brennan said. “It could be unlicensed people in positions that require licenses, medical conditions, drug use, mechanical conditions with the vessel that were not properly repaired, or falsified repairs.”

Federal prosecutors have used “seaman’s manslaughter” in several deadly maritime incidents around America. That pre-Civil War statute says that neglect or misconduct leading to death by the ship officer is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. It also applies to the companies that own and charter vessels when their “fraud, neglect, connivance, misconduct, or violation of law” leads to death.

The pilot of a ferry and his supervisor were each sentenced to more than a year in prison after pleading guilty to seaman’s manslaughter in connection to the 2003 crash of the Staten Island Ferry, which killed 11 people. In that case, the pilot had passed out behind the wheel of the ferry, while the supervisor failed to enforce a rule requiring two pilots on board.

In November, a federal jury convicted the captain of a dive boat that caught fire off the coast of California in 2019, killing 34 people, under the same charge.

The NTSB’s preliminary report, which will be limited to factual findings surrounding the crash and ensuing collapse, is expected in the first week of May, and its final report could take up to two years.

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