MIAMI – Coast Guard crews continue searching for possible survivors from the cargo ship El Faro Monday, which is believed to have sunk during Hurricane Joaquin. The single person found in a survival suit did not live and was not identifiable, the Coast Guard said.
Advertisement
Fedor said it was believed that the ship ‘sank in the last known position that we recorded on Thursday‘.
The captain of the 790-foot El Faro planned to bypass Hurricane Joaquin, but a few kind of mechanical failure left the US container ship with 33 people aboard helplessly – and tragically - adrift in the path of the powerful storm, the vessel’s owners say. You all depend on each other. Life jackets, life rings, containers and an oil sheen were located by Coast Guard aircrews within a 225 square nautical mile search area, according to the Coast Guard. “That’s all we can do right now”, Young says.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said she was glad searchers were not giving up. In the past, Kings Pointers have been stationed on the El Faro, previously known as the Northern Lights.
Laurie Bobillot, whose daughter, Danielle Randolph, is a second mate on the El Faro, said Sunday she was trying not to lose hope after almost four days anxiously waiting for news of the ship from its owner, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico.
The ship’s owner, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, lost all communication with the ship last Thursday, and no one aboard has been heard from since.
Young spoke to reporters outside a Seafarer’s union hall in Jacksonville, Florida, where family members have been getting briefings from the company. “In English, El Faro means “The Lighthouse” and it is my hope that our lighthouses will help guide our Mainers, and the crew, home”. Three Coast Guard cutters, two C-130 aircraft, helicopters and a U.S. Navy plane were searching across a wide expanse of Atlantic Ocean near Crooked Island.
It was reported to be caught in the storm near the chain’s Crooked Island, where the ship sent a satellite notification stating it had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list.
“TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico authorized the sailing knowing that the crew are more than equipped to handle situations such as changing weather”.
“We remain hopeful that we will try and we will hopefully find survivors”, Fedor said.
“The blame that has to be done is on the hurricane, not the captain”, she said.
Nevertheless, the incident will be investigated by both the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Greene said El Faro was built to work in the treacherous seas off of Alaska and Russian Federation, and touted its years of service.
Terrence Meadows, a junior engineer and union member, said the captain and company made a poor decision to go to sea.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the crew members of El Faro, their families, friends and local communities, especially in Wilton, Windham, and Rockland”.
Advertisement
Until recently, Luhta said he had representatives operating the same route on different ships and could very easily have lost a lot of friends.
