Sadly, the US Coast Guard announced today that the cargo ship, El Faro, carrying 391 containers and 294 vehicles, crewed by 33 including 28 Americans and five Polish Nationals is considered lost 35 nautical miles northeast of Crooked Island in 15,000 foot-deep waters. The ship is 40 years old and was recently extended 35 feet. to over 725 feet long (varying sources report this differently).
The ship was reported without power and listing at 15 degrees on Thursday. It was also taking on water through a hatch that had popped open which the last, and only, communication from the ship's captain indicated had been halted.
When the ship left Jacksonville, Florida on Tuesday, en route to Puerto Rico, Hurricane Joaquin was a tropical storm. As the El Faro moved south, the storm moved NW into its path where it quickly became a Category 4 hurricane with 170mph wind gusts and 50 foot waves. This is roughly when the cargo ship lost power, began taking on water and listing.
Though the exact cause of the ship's sinking may never be known, the ship was extremely vulnerable given the situation. Any that abandoned ship would have been inside the hurricane and its force. A grim situation given they would be in the water with potentially hundreds of huge, weighty containers slapping about uncontrollably in the water with them.
Even in warm water and inside a survival suit--assuming a survivor managed to get off the ship and somehow was not subsequently crushed by shipping containers--the Coast Guard indicated that four to five days is the likely survival time for a person in the water.
On Saturday afternoon, a life ring from El Faro was found at sea along with debris and an oil slick. None of this was a good sign.
On Sunday--but reported just this morning--multiple reports were received by the Coast Guard of more debris, including more life rings, two life boats and survival suits floating on two large areas of water; one in the area of the ship's last known position and a second about 60 miles north of that. The Coast Guard has been checking every single report on the water while also searching for survivors.
Sadly, one survival suit contained the unidentifiable body of a crewmember. The body could not be retrieved. Two lifeboats, each apparently capable of carrying 43 persons, were located, one purportedly suffered extreme damage.
The US Coast Guard indicates that while they are no longer searching for the ship, they continue to search for survivors.
You can view a portion of the US Coast Guard interview from this morning, with much more detail, here.
Update: Here is a timeline of the situation.
Also, I have read in a couple of places that this ship is technically a RO/RO; a vessel that carries roll offs.
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My best thoughts go out to the families, friends and comrades of the missing crew. I keep thinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald. I hope that somehow this will turn out differently.
There are many, many stories out there on this with varying details and even some interviews with people already drawing some preliminary conclusions about cause. The whole thing is very, very tragic.