The body inside the survival suit was unidentifiable, he said.
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At the time of their departure, the vessels’ officers and crew were monitoring what was then-Tropical Storm Joaquin, according to Nolan. Clouds with rain and thunderstorms are affecting Cuba and Haiti, Puerto Rico, and the northern Virgin Islands. Authorities lost contact with the El Faro early Thursday as the ship sailed through the Bahamas at the height of the Hurricane Joaquin storm as it sailed from its homeport in Jacksonville, Fla., to San Juan, Puerto Rico. That was the last communication from the ship.
“I think the most critical importance for us is that we share as much information as we have, that we’re upfront about the situations as we possibly can be”, Greene told the station.
TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico said a contracted tugboat and another of its ships had found a container that appears to be from the El Faro.
Fedor said finding the missing boat is no longer a priority.
Young spoke to reporters outside a Seafarer’s union hall in Jacksonville, Florida, where family members have been getting briefings from the company. The recovered lifeboat was one of two from the ship, each with a capacity for 43 people.
Fedor said maritime conditions during the Category 4 hurricane were brutal.
Phil Greene, president of the company that owns the ship, TOTE Services, told reporters Saturday that the captain reported he was adjusting course to avoid the bad weather, but there was a mechanical problem that disabled the vessel and “the ship found its way in the path of the storm“.
“That’s my son out there”, one overwhelmed woman said outside the hall as she walked to a nearby hotel.
However, at this point, there is no confirmation that any of it is from the missing Jacksonville, Florida-based vessel.
Deb Roberts, Holland’s mother, wrote on Facebook that she was holding out for a miracle.
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”, Fedor said. The search was called off for the night Saturday but will resume Sunday.
“Our hope is that we can really saturate that area better than yesterday”, said Schuhlein, a Coast Guard spokesman.
Searchers have found debris and clues but no definitive word on the fate of the vessel or those on board.
The ocean where it sank is 15,000 feet deep and is a popular channel for large ships.
The investigation will be led by the National Transportation Safety Board and aided by the Coast Guard. The ship makes weekly trips between the USA and Puerto Rico and also the U.S. Virgin Islands, typically carrying groceries and automobiles.
Family members have said four of the crewmembers are from Maine.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, released a statement Monday offering thoughts and prayers to crew members. A helicopter crew confirmed the person was dead but had to leave the body behind to continue the search for possible survivors.
“It’s still an active search and rescue”, he said. “Those are challenging conditions to survive”, Fedor said.
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The Coast Guard said Sunday evening that the search teams, which also include personnel and resources from U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, have covered more than 70,000 square miles. NEWS CENTER will update this story.
