Robert Green, the father of missing crew member LaShawn Rivera, told reporters he was still praying for a miracle despite the decision to call of the search.
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El Faro, the cargo ship that was declared lost at sea Monday in the Bahamas after being caught in Hurricane Joaquin, began its life at Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.in Chester in 1975. However, company officials have said they do not believe the work was related to a propulsion problem reported by the captain before the El Faro sank. Its last known location, after departing Jacksonville last week en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, was off Crooked Island in the Bahamas. Additional items located by Coast Guard aircrews within search areas include a partially submerged life raft, life jackets, life rings, cargo containers and an oil sheen Sunday, the Coast Guard said.
The ship is believed to have sunk in waters that are 15,000 feet deep. He also told officials that the El Faro was listing 15 degrees in strong winds and seas, and that a few water had entered through a hatch that popped open. Sadly, one body from the El Faro sea disaster has been found with the U.S. Coast Guard noting that the deceased individual was found inside of their survival suits.
“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.
NTSB investigators, who spent all day at TOTE Maritime’s headquarters on the Southside, will spend the next several days interviewing the company’s employees, combing through its records, examining the ship’s mechanics and reviewing meteorological data.
Survival suits are created to help seafarers float and stay warm. The ship has not been heard from since it lost power and was taking on water in seas churned up by Hurricane Joaquin.
“What we’ve all questioned from the very start is why the captain would take them through a hurricane of this magnitude, or any hurricane”, said Barry Young, uncle of crew member Shaun Riviera.
Fedor said the National Transportation Safety Board and Coast Guard will investigate the sinking.
NTSB Vice Chair Bella Dinh-Zarr said investigators will review all communications and navigation emissions from the El Faro.
“Our crews are still searching and holding onto hope that we will find someone”, Somma said. The search for survivors continued, however.
The Wall Street Journal and CNN, citing family members of the ship’s crew, said the search will end on Wednesday night.
Students at the academy are hanging onto hope that former graduates, Captain Michael Davidson, Mike Holland, Danielle Randolph, and Dylan Meklin will be found.
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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.
