The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it was ending its search for the missing crew of an American cargo ship that sank off the Bahamas last week after sailing into the path of powerful Hurricane Joaquin.
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On October. 5, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that the vessel was believed to have sunk during Hurricane Joaquin.
Rear Admiral Scott Buschman, commander of the Coast Guard’s 7th District, called the decision to suspend the search “very hard”.
Capt. Mark Fedor, chief of response for the Coast Guard, said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference that the operation to locate the El Faro would switch from a rescue mission to a recovery and investigation footing at sunset.
“As we reflect upon the El Faro, let us not forget all seafarers, both now and in the past, that each day go into that unknown”, said the man leading the prayers.
She says they’re working with the Navy to bring out different equipment than what the Coast Guard was using- these will be more geared to finding the ship thousands of feet underwater instead of looking for survivors at sea level.
The 790-foot El Faro was last heard from October. 1 when the crew reported it had lost propulsion and was listing 15 degrees. Helicopters and a Coast Guard cutter searched the waters since Sunday; though searchers found wreckage, they did not find anyone alive. One unidentified body has been found.
TOTE is cooperating with the investigation, said Pingree, and so far has provided the NTSB access to the El Faro’s sister ship, the El Yunque, which could help investigators learn about the unique characteristics of how the ship behaves during rough weather.
The National Transportation Safety Board is still trying to find out what happened to a cargo ship that went missing last week.
US President Barack Obama has offered his condolences to the relatives of the victims of the El Faro container ship, who included five Poles. He said that is why mariners train and prepare and that that is why Maine Maritime Academy exists. And while cargo vessels are capable of tackling bad whether conditions, common practice is to avoid hurricanes and El Faro stayed to a course that took it directly toward a worsening one.
The investigation will also look at when and why the engine failed, and if there were problems before the ship left port, she said.
Brennan said the thoughts of the MMA community have been and will continue to be with the families and loved ones of the crew members.
It is not clear why the captain made a decision to lead the ship into waters near Hurricane Joaquin.
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Given the weather system, the captain’s “plan was a sound plan that would have enabled him to clearly pass around the storm with a margin of comfort that was adequate in his professional opinion”, Greene said. The American Bureau of Shipping, a nonprofit organization that sets safety and other standards for ships, did full hull and machinery inspections in February with no red flags, the company said.
