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Cargo Ship With Crew of 33 Sank in Storm in Caribbean Cargo Ship With Crew of 33 Sank in Storm in Caribbean
(about 4 hours later)
MIAMI — The tropical storm had been newly christened Joaquin not long before the cargo ship El Faro pulled out of the busy port in Jacksonville, Fla., last Tuesday, heading for San Juan, P.R. It was a familiar run for the old ship, ferrying goods on the 1,200-mile route, one it had made countless times. MIAMI — By the time the cargo ship El Faro pulled out of the busy port in Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 29 ready to begin its routine 1,200-mile run of goods to San Juan, P.R., the recently christened tropical storm Joaquin was threatening to become a hurricane.
For many experienced captains of large vessels, a tropical storm is cause for concern but not necessarily alarm. It is carefully monitored and meticulously charted. Tropical storms in the Caribbean are commonplace, and do not necessarily lead to canceled voyages, veteran captains said. The ship had made the run countless times. For many experienced captains of large vessels, a tropical storm, even one that is strengthening, is cause for concern but not necessarily alarm. Such storms in the Caribbean, along Hurricane Alley, are commonplace, carefully monitored and do not necessarily lead to canceled voyages, veteran captains said.
But by the time El Faro and its 33 crew members approached the Bahamas, the storm had turned treacherous far more quickly than initially forecast. It hurdled past hurricane categories 1, 2 and 3 until it settled at 4, a fearsome ball of wind, waves and rain, and then it sat patiently. By Thursday, El Faro was trapped in the crush of 50-foot seas and 120-knot winds. Listing 15 degrees, the ship, full of cargo containers and cars, was taking on water. The engine failed, making it impossible to steer the ship. Then, after a distress signal, all communication vanished. But by the time El Faro and its 33 crew members approached the Bahamas, the storm had turned treacherous more quickly than anticipated. It hurdled past hurricane categories 1, 2 and 3 until it settled at 4, a fearsome ball of wind, waves and rain, and then it sat patiently. By Thursday, El Faro was trapped in the crush of 50-foot seas and winds of 125 miles per hour, near the eye of the hurricane. Listing dangerously 15 degrees, the ship, full of cargo containers and cars, was taking on water. The engine failed, making it impossible to steer the ship. Then, after a distress signal, all communication vanished at 7:20 a.m.
On Monday morning, the Coast Guard here said it feared the worst: “We believe it sank in the last known position that we recorded on Thursday,” about 35 miles northeast of Crooked Islands, the Bahamas, Capt. Mark Fedor said. “We are still looking for survivors or any signs of life or any signs of that vessel.” On Monday morning, the Coast Guard here said it feared the worst: “We believe it sank in the last known position that we recorded on Thursday,” about 35 miles northeast of Crooked Islands, the Bahamas, in 15,000 feet of water, Capt. Mark Fedor said. “We are still looking for survivors or any signs of life or any signs of that vessel.”
Of the 33 crew members, no survivors have been found. One person was found dead inside a survival suit, which is meant to keep people afloat and protect them from hypothermia. Coast Guard personnel also spotted a container, a cargo door and carpets of plastic foam used to pack goods in containers. Of the 33 crew members, no survivors have been found. One person was found dead inside a survival suit, which is meant to keep people afloat and protect them from hypothermia. Coast Guard personnel also spotted a container, a cargo door and carpets of plastic foam used to pack goods in containers. And they recovered a lifeboat with El Faro markings on it, but no one in it, Captain Fedor said. “It was heavily damaged,” he added.
The sinking, one of the worst near the United States coastline, raises a host of questions about the wisdom of the trip. Should the storm have been cause for greater concern? Was the age of the ship — 41 years — a factor? Was the storm survivable? The sinking of the United States-flagged ship, the worst in recent memory near the American coastline, raises a host of questions about the wisdom of the trip. Should the growing storm have been cause for greater concern? Was the age of the 790-foot-long ship — 41 years — a factor? Was the storm survivable? Did shipping schedules override safety concerns?
Family members of El Faro’s missing crew have gathered since the weekend at the Seafarers International Union hall in an office park in Jacksonville, Fla., hoping for some positive news amid the deepening gloom about the ship’s fate. Family members of El Faro’s missing crew have gathered since the weekend at the Seafarers International Union hall in an office park in Jacksonville, hoping for some positive news amid the deepening gloom about the ship’s fate.
Several sailors there offered hope that crew members could have survived, and questioned the ship’s path and why it had sailed toward the storm. Destiny Sparrow, 22, arrived at the Seafarers union hall in a desperate quest for more information about her father, Frank Hamm, whose job is to steer the ship. She said the company still has not fully explained what happened, or why they went out to sea in a storm.
“They should never have went through that, period,” said Terrence Meadows, a sailor. “You can’t control nature, but if you know the circumstances are detrimental, they should not have did it. That could have been me. That could have been anybody in that union hall.” “That’s what I did not like! That makes no sense to me at all,” she said firmly. Mr. Hamm, 49, a married father of four, has worked at sea since 1999 and is a hard worker who invites homeless people to spend the night at his home and eat Thanksgiving dinner, she said.
Roland Johnson, who said he often worked standby with the same crew as the El Faro, said the sailors received exhaustive training to prepare for such a disaster. As he drove to the office to fill out paperwork for upcoming jobs, he expressed hope that all those practiced lifeboat launches saved lives. Several sailors said they were holding out hope and also questioned why the ship sailed toward the storm.
“I want to believe that is what happened,” Mr. Johnson said. “You got a lot of good brothers out there.” Roland Johnson, who said he often works standby with the same crew as the El Faro, said the sailors receive exhaustive training to prepare for such a disaster. “My question is: Why did it go out?” he said. “The storm was there. Why go? Why?”
He, too, wondered why the ship’s captain had chosen to sail at all.
“My question is: Why did it go out?” he said. “The storm was there. Why go? Why?”
Others see horrible luck more than flawed judgment.Others see horrible luck more than flawed judgment.
“Most ships will encounter tropical storm conditions on a frequent basis, particularly at this time; it’s not something they would necessarily attempt to avoid,” said Capt. Joseph S. Murphy II, a licensed master mariner and commercial vessel captain who has been going to sea since 1968, including along El Faro’s route. “These vessels are very robust; they are capable of handling both types of situation — tropical storms, tropical depressions. And this ship has encountered those on numerous occasions.”“Most ships will encounter tropical storm conditions on a frequent basis, particularly at this time; it’s not something they would necessarily attempt to avoid,” said Capt. Joseph S. Murphy II, a licensed master mariner and commercial vessel captain who has been going to sea since 1968, including along El Faro’s route. “These vessels are very robust; they are capable of handling both types of situation — tropical storms, tropical depressions. And this ship has encountered those on numerous occasions.”
“In his case, I think, it was the worst-case scenario,” he added. “Everything that could go wrong did.” “In this case, I think, it was the worst-case scenario,” he added. “Everything that could go wrong did.”
On its website, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, which owns the 790-foot-long ship that is registered in the United States, said the officers and crew had been monitoring what was then Tropical Storm Joaquin when the decision was made to sail. On its website, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, which owns the El Faro, said the experienced officers and crew, including Capt. Michael Davidson, of Maine, had been monitoring what was then Tropical Storm Joaquin when the decision was made to sail. The ship carried 391 containers and 294 trailers and cars, the Coast Guard said.
“Our crew are trained to deal with unfolding weather situations and are best prepared and equipped to respond to emerging situations while at sea,” the company wrote. “TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico authorized the sailing knowing that the crew are more than equipped to handle situations such as changing weather.”“Our crew are trained to deal with unfolding weather situations and are best prepared and equipped to respond to emerging situations while at sea,” the company wrote. “TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico authorized the sailing knowing that the crew are more than equipped to handle situations such as changing weather.”
Tim Nolan, the president of TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, thanked the Coast Guard for all its help. Some maritime experts, though, are raising questions about the ship’s age and whether it may have played a role in the sinking. El Faro, which means lighthouse in Spanish, was built in 1975 and had been renovated in 2006, company officials said. Throughout the decades, it had been regularly maintained and updated and had passed numerous Coast Guard inspections, according to the company website. The last inspection was on March 5 and 6. It also was inspected by the American Bureau of Shipping on Feb. 13.
“At this point in time, the entire TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico family is distressed that it now appears the El Faro sank at or near its last known position on Thursday Oct. 1, 2015,” he said. “We continue to hold out hope for survivors. Our prayers and thoughts go out to the family members, and we will continue to do all we can to support them.” The company was getting ready to launch a brand new ship powered with liquid natural gas, which was expected to make the Jacksonville-San Juan run. El Faro was being retrofitted and was going to be sent to Alaska. A company spokesman said that five Polish workers were on board to do the retrofitting.
Early Thursday, the ship’s crew sent out a distress signal, reported that it had lost propulsion and was taking on water, and then all contact was lost. The ship was carrying a crew of 33 people, including 28 Americans and five Polish citizens. “This is a tragedy that certainly could have been avoided,” said Captain William H. Doherty, the director of maritime relations at Nexus Consulting Group in Arlington, Va., and a former commander of tankers and container ships who also served on numerous Navy warships. “That ship was 40 years old. In spite of all that anybody tells you, this ship was on extended life support.”
Search planes spotted a handful of survival suits in the water, including one with an unidentifiable human body in it, Captain Fedor said. “We also recovered a lifeboat with El Faro markings on it,” but no one in it, he said. “It was heavily damaged.” Before he left, Captain Davidson would have carefully planned out his trip and used all possible technological tools to track the storm and his route. But hurricanes, despite modern technology, can remain stubbornly unpredictable. Joaquin intensified quickly, said Captain Murphy, who is also a tenured professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
If crew members were able to get into one of the lifeboats and launch it, “they would have been abandoning ship into a Category 4 hurricane,” Captain Fedor said. “You’re talking about 140-mile-an-hour winds, seas upwards of 50 feet, basically zero visibility. Those are challenging conditions to survive in.” Even if Mr. Davidson had an alternative route, it would have taken a long time — 24 to 36 hours — to evade the storm under those conditions. “It’s not like you are going to step on the gas and get out of the way,” he said.
Search planes spotted a handful of survival suits in the water, including one with an unidentifiable human body in it, Captain Fedor said. A diver confirmed the person in the survival suit, often called Gumby suits because of their rubberlike appearance, was dead. If crew members were able to get into one of the lifeboats and launch it, “they would have been abandoning ship into a Category 4 hurricane,” Captain Fedor said. “You’re talking about 140-mile-an-hour winds, seas upwards of 50 feet, basically zero visibility. Those are challenging conditions to survive in.”
When asked if the ship should have gone ahead with the voyage, Captain Fedor said, “That was the ship captain’s decision to make.” He said both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard would investigate the incident.When asked if the ship should have gone ahead with the voyage, Captain Fedor said, “That was the ship captain’s decision to make.” He said both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard would investigate the incident.
But a Coast Guard spokesman, David Schuhlein, said the Coast Guard’s own vessels would not risk hitting such extreme weather.
“We put our ships in port and try to get them out of the way,” he said.
Four members of the crew believed to be aboard El Faro were graduates of the Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year public college that trains graduates to be officers.Four members of the crew believed to be aboard El Faro were graduates of the Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year public college that trains graduates to be officers.
Capt. Nathan Gandy, the academy’s commandant, a position similar to dean of students, said he believed the trained crew could have survived the treacherous weather. Aircraft from the Coast Guard and the Navy are searching two distinct debris fields, Captain Fedor said, one covering about 300 square nautical miles, and the other, 60 miles to the north, covering about 70 square nautical miles.
“It’s a hazardous environment. The sea is a hostile place,” Captain Gandy said. “We spend a lot of time training and educating students on survival and emergency races in case something like this should happen. They are well trained, but occasionally the training is not enough. At this point we are still hopeful the training was enough — the Coast Guard certainly believes that to be the case as they are continuing the search.” Before Saturday, the Coast Guard planes and helicopters were stymied because “Hurricane Joaquin was essentially sitting right over it,” Captain Fedor said. On Saturday, the first sign of the ship was found: a life ring with El Faro’s name on it.
“This is survivable,” he said. The company serves Puerto Rico and Alaska under the 95-year-old federal Jones Act, which requires that only United States flagged, owned and crewed ships carry goods from one American port to another. The company, under its former name Sea Star Line, has been delivering goods to Puerto Rico under the law twice weekly for more than 30 years.
Aircraft from the Coast Guard and the Navy are searching two distinct debris fields, Captain Fedor said, one covering about 300 square nautical miles, and the other, about 60 miles to the north, covering about 70 square nautical miles. Spotters have located life vests, life rafts, a cargo door, an oil slick and a lot of Styrofoam, among other signs of the ship.
The Coast Guard said its aircraft had so far searched an area of 70,000 square miles, and it sent HC-130 search planes back to the area Monday morning.
TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, the owner of the 790-foot-long ship, reported that it lost contact with El Faro at 7:20 a.m. Thursday.
Without propulsion, Captain Fedor said, the ship would have turned sideways to the force of the storm, struck broadside by waves and wind — a very dangerous condition. In addition, he said, it was already listing about 15 degrees from the water it had taken on.
Relatives of crew members had gathered at a union hall in Jacksonville, Fla., in recent days to await news of the American-flagged ship’s status.
Before Saturday, the Coast Guard planes and helicopters were hampered in their search of the area, because “Hurricane Joaquin was essentially sitting right over it,” Captain Fedor said.
Coast Guard pilots said they flew in winds sometimes in excess of 115 miles an hour, and they reported swells of more than 40 feet. In a video released by the Coast Guard, a lieutenant who flew one of the search planes said Saturday produced “the most challenging weather conditions anyone on our crew had ever flown in.”
Mr. Schuhlein said the search aircraft, which fly very low, were severely battered on Thursday, even losing exterior panels, and were forced to turn back.
On Saturday, the first sign of the ship was found, a life ring with El Faro’s name on it, and much more debris was seen on Sunday.
TOTE Maritime, El Faro’s owner, said the ship left Jacksonville for San Juan, P.R., on Sept. 29, when Joaquin was still a tropical storm. But the storm soon became more intense, and by Thursday morning, when El Faro lost contact with the shore, it was a Category 3 hurricane, with winds of up to 120 m.p.h.
The company serves Puerto Rico and Alaska under the 95-year-old federal Jones Act, which requires ships carrying goods from one American port to another to be United States flagged, owned and crewed. The company, under its former name Sea Star Line, has been delivering goods to Puerto Rico under the law twice weekly for more than 30 years.
The ship’s last Coast Guard inspection was March 5 and 6. The last American Bureau of Shipping inspection was Feb. 13. The ship carried 391 containers and 294 trailers and cars, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard said that despite the bleak news, the search would continue.
“We’re not going to discount somebody’s will to survive,” Captain Fedor said.“We’re not going to discount somebody’s will to survive,” Captain Fedor said.