Search for Cargo Ship Survivors to End Wednesday, Relatives Say

The search for survivors from the sinking of the El Faro cargo ship will be called off at sunset Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed.

In addition to the VDR the NTSB investigation will also look into the communications between the captain and the vessel’s owner.

Coast Guard Capt. Mark Fedor answers questions during a press conference at Coast Guard Air Station Miami, October 5.

“The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained”, the Coast Guard wrote in a media release.

The El Faro cargo ship was lost at sea in the Bermuda Triangle as it encountered Hurricane Joaquin near the Crooked Island in the Bahamas.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday, “As their ship battled the storm, they were no doubt working as they lived- together, as one crew”. It says conditions in Devon will be cloudy but normal on Saturday for the time of year but its forecast may change, and there is the chance of gale force winds in the South West. It thinks the hurricane will become a storm and could hit on Sunday. The Coast Guard said Monday the ship probably sank that day in Joaquin’s Category 4 winds and waves.

Over the next few days, searchers recovered one body in survival suit that they were not able to recover and discovered a debris field that covered 225 square miles.

Fedor said there was a report that a scuttle – a hatch in the deck of the ship – had been open and water had gotten in.

“It’s been six long days of hoping and praying”, she said to a television reporter on a clip posted on her Facebook page.

“All I ask is for you to pray for the crew members”.

Tote executives said the captain, Michael Davidson, planned a heading that would have enabled El Faro to bypass Joaquin if the ship hadn’t lost power.

Dinh-Zarr said the vessel’s data recorder – which emits pings but has not yet been found – would be a key element in determining exactly what happened to the ship.

Fedor said officials believe the 735-foot cargo ship sunk while it was en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico. 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.

The team is led by the NTSB’s Tom Roth-Roffy as investigator-in-charge.

“Everybody’s crying. It’s not a good situation”, said Terrence Meadows, 36, a seaman who knew a few of the missing crew and joined grieving relatives Wednesday at the Seafarers worldwide Union hall in Jacksonville.

He attended the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, as did fellow crew member Keith Griffin. Did pressure to deliver the cargo on time play a role in the captain’s decision to press ahead?

“Our focus has been on supporting and caring for the family members, loved ones, and friends of those aboard the El Faro“, the Jacksonville, Florida-based company said.