![]() ![]() Cargo Vessel El Faro – Illustrated Digest. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted a 26-month investigation into the incident, detailing its key findings in the following report: Sinking of the U.S. While it’s true that Hurricane Joaquin sank the ship, her loss and the loss of the crew can be traced to specific decisions and actions that, if made differently, could have prevented this tragedy.Įl Faro’s sinking marks the deadliest shipping disaster involving an American vessel in more than three decades. 33 people left Jacksonville with every intention of arriving safely in San Juan, but they never saw their families again. 33 Lives Lost Due to Poor Oversight of an Unseaworthy VesselĮvery person on board El Faro was lost when the ship went down. The vessel’s final relayed position, according to Reuters, was approximately 23.52°N 74.02°W at 7:56 am on October 1, which would place it within Joaquin’s eyewall-the area immediately outside the eye of the storm and the most dangerous, destructive part of a hurricane. It increased in intensity until it was classified as a Category 3 hurricane at 11 pm that day. Joaquin was classified as a hurricane on the morning of September 30. Klaus Luhta of the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots said that Captain Davidson headed directly into the storm’s path. 10 hours after departing, however, El Faro was steaming ahead at 20 knots and had deviated from her plotted course. The course charted by El Faro’s captain, Michael Davidson, was supposed to keep the ship safe by staying south of the storm. Hurricane Joaquin was still a tropical storm when El Faro departed, yet National Hurricane Center meteorologists predicted it would become a hurricane by the morning of October 1. She was headed for San Juan, Puerto Rico with a load of 391 shipping containers, about 294 trailers and cars, and a crew of 33 people. She operated as El Faro from 2005 until she sank on October 1, 2015.Īt 8:10 pm on September 29, 2015, El Faro left Jacksonville, Florida. SS El Faro Steams Directly into Path of a Hurricaneīuilt in 1975 by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, the cargo ship eventually known as El Faro first launched as the Puerto Rico (1975-1991) and then Northern Lights (1991-2006). ![]() But that does not make what happened any less horrific or inexcusable. Why had the 40-year-old vessel sailed into a storm she had no chance of weathering? Why hadn’t TOTE Maritime, the owner of El Faro, better maintained the ship? Why didn’t the captain alter course? 33 families were torn apart, wondering why. 33 people lost their lives that ill-fated day. It has been six years since El Faro steamed into Hurricane Joaquin, an act that sank the vessel and claimed the lives of the entire crew. This article is brought to you by Arnold & Itkin LLP. ![]()
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