The U.S. Coast Guard resumed a search-and-rescue effort for a USA cargo ship on Wednesday, but hopes for the mostly American crew were fading six days after it sank in the Bahamas after running into Hurricane Joaquin. Then, with obvious sadness and regret, Petty Officer Mark Barney announced it would halt the hunt for survivors later in the evening.
Advertisement
Family members of the missing crew members thanked the coast guard for their efforts, but said they were devastated.
“Today, 28 American families – from Florida to Maine – and five Polish families are heartbroken”.
They said Davidson was in regular communication before the storm with the company, which can override a captain’s decisions. They want to make sure all of the things that are perishable are received in due time, including the data recorder aboard the ship.
Even before the announcement, hopes of finding anyone alive were fading. “She would rather go down with the ship, so to speak”. And there’s no questioning the outcome of that. NTSB officials have said a probe may take months to complete.
Robert Green, whose daughter, LaShawn Rivera, is among the missing, said he remains optimistic despite the Coast Guard’s decision.
“He’s always told me, I never give up, I never quit, I never fail, and I am holding on to that with every ounce of my being”, said Pusatere’s wife, Emily.
“While the search might be over, our support and commitment to the families and loved ones and friends of those on board has not ended nor will it”, Tote Incorporated President Anthony Chiarello said.
The U.S. Coast Guard has officially suspended the search for El Faro survivors at nightfall on Wednesday. He did not, however, have information related to why the hatch would have been open.
The data recorder is created to send out auditory pings for roughly 30 days after it hits the water.
Legere said that deadlines to deliver cargo generally play into a captain’s decision to sail. The ship was considered rugged and had been retrofitted as recently as 2006 but at 40 years old had been at sea double a standard service life. And was the mechanical trouble caused by work that was being done in the engine room at the time? “We will be here as long as it takes”.
The AP reported the captain of the 790-foot ship, carrying 33 people, planned to bypass the hurricane, but a few kind of mechanical failure left the container ship adrift in the storm’s path.
The NTSB said a key part of the investigation is learning how to prevent similar tragedies.
“If they abandoned ship on Thursday [October 1], it would have been into that Category Four storm”.
“It’s very hard to get in, but he was a determined student who realized his dreams and became a talented mariner”, said Graner of Kuflik going to the Maine Maritime Academy.
Advertisement
But knowing that a potential hurricane was brewing, why was El Faro allowed to go ahead with its scheduled route?
