A federal safety board investigating the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash that killed 11 people and injured 70 excoriated the city yesterday for poor oversight of ferry personnel and inadequate safety procedures.

The report could open the door to greater damages sought by crash victims. The National Transportation Safety Board wrote in its report that the New York City Department of Transportation was responsible in part for the crash because of its “failure … to implement and oversee safe, effective operating procedures for its ferries.”

The commissioner of the city agency, Iris Weinshall, attended yesterday’s hearing in Washington, where she thanked the safety board for investigating the crash, which she called in a statement “one of the darkest and saddest days” of her tenure.

The crash of the Andrew J. Barbieri on October 15, 2003, considered the worst in the ferry’s almost 100 years of operation, occurred when the assistant captain, Richard Smith, lost consciousness while at the helm as a result of a cocktail of medications he was taking for high blood pressure, back, and heart problems, according to the authorities. The boat, carrying 750 passengers, slammed into the pier as it approached Staten Island and sheared the deck of the bow.

The report faulted the assistant captain’s doctor, William Tursi, for omitting details of Smith’s medical and treatment history.

Smith pleaded guilty last year to 11 counts of manslaughter. His doctor has been indicted by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District, Roslynn Mauskopf, for allegedly failing to disclose the pilot’s medical history. Dr. Tursi has denied the charges. Prosecutors have charged the ferry director, Patrick Ryan, with manslaughter, and the port captain, John Mauldin, is accused of lying to investigators. They have denied the charges.

The safety board recommended the city implement greater controls that would ensure its pilots’ medical histories are consistently reviewed. Other recommendations, such as improved radio communication and training, have begun to be implemented by the Department of Transportation.

Ms. Weinshall said the department has already shored up some of the gaps in its safety system, such as making operating procedures more stringent, increasing ferries’ crew size, better training crew members, and providing boats and crew members with improved radio capabilities. The department has so far hired 50 people to meet those new manning levels and help implement safety standards with more on the way, the commissioner said.

The safety board also criticized the Coast Guard. Though not in charge of overseeing the pilot and ensuring the completeness of his medical history, the Coast Guard should seek legislative authority to require ferry operators to implement appropriate safety management systems, the report recommended.

The report, although not admissible in court, will probably bolster the civil case of victims suing the city. Nearly 200 personal-injury claims, totaling more than $3.2 billion, have been filed against the city by victims and their families. The city has already paid at least $1.8 million in settlements.

The city is trying to limit its liability by using an old maritime law that prevents damages from exceeding the value of the hull of the ship unless the defendant is found to be negligent, a lawyer representing the injured, Sanford Rubenstein, said.

At least 50 claims, made by those hurt least in the crash, have been settled, though none involved the families of the 11 people killed, Mr. Rubenstein said. The remaining plaintiffs await the end of the criminal proceedings. A civil case will not proceed until limits surrounding the issue of liability are resolved.

“The value of the hull of the ship is significantly less than the value of what the victims are entitled to for pain and suffering,” Mr. Rubenstein, who is lead cocounsel representing the victims, said.

A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg, Jordan Barowitz, would not comment on the National Transportation Safety Board’s report.