MIAMI – Searchers confirmed Monday that a wreck found over the weekend belongs to the missing El Faro that sank earlier this month as it drifted powerless near a dangerous Category 3 hurricane in the Bahamas.
The wreck, located 15,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, intact and sitting upright, was found by searchers using sonar equipment over the weekend. In a brief statement on the National Transportation Safety Board website Monday, officials said they had positively identified the wreck and would continue searching the vessel and area around it.
Searchers discovered the wreck Saturday afternoon on their fifth pass of the ship’s last known location near Crooked Island, using sonar equipment capable of recording images on the lightless ocean floor.
Once they detected the wreck, the NTSB said searchers deployed a remote control vehicle that can operate at depths up to 20,000 feet deep. The vehicle is equipped with a high-resolution digital still camera as well as black and white, and color television cameras.
The El Faro went missing during its weekly run from Jacksonville, Fla., to Puerto Rico. Despite hurricane warnings, Capt. Michael Davidson told ship owner Tote Maritime Puerto Rico that the planned to take a course about 65 miles west of the worsening storm.
But on Oct. 1, Davidson called officials to report that the 790-foot long cargo ship had lost propulsion, had taken on water and was listing at 15 degrees. NTSB officials later reported that a hatch had blown and the hull had been breached. Minutes later, U.S. Coast Guard officials received a series of alerts from the ship’s emergency distress systems and launched a search. But dangerous hurricane conditions – sustained winds topped 120 mph – hampered efforts. So far, only a single body in a survival suit was found, but conditioners were too rough to retrieve the body, Coast Guard officials said.
Now that the ship has been located, the remote control vehicle, called a CURVE-21, will be used to document the vessel and the debris field and attempt to locate the ship’s voyage data recorder, NTSB officials said. The recorder, mounted on the bridge, could hold important clues about the crew’s last moments, including conversations as well as data about the ship’s operations.
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