Hurricane Joaquin

14 Stories

Recording Captures Captain's Last Words on Sinking Ship
Recording Captures Captain's
Last Words on Sinking Ship
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Recording Captures Captain's Last Words on Sinking Ship

'It's time to come this way!' El Faro captain calls to struggling man; all 33 aboard the ship died

(Newser) - The cargo ship El Faro went down in a hurricane near the Bahama Islands in 2015, and none of the 33 people aboard survived. Now Vanity Fair is out with a gripping account of the ship's final hours, based on recordings from the bridge salvaged from the ocean floor....

Coast Guard Report: Captain to Blame in El Faro Sinking

Capt. Michael Davidson underestimated hurricane, overestimated ship

(Newser) - A Coast Guard report released Sunday says the primary cause of the 2015 sinking of the cargo ship El Faro , which killed all 33 aboard, was the captain underestimating the strength of a hurricane and overestimating the ship's strength. The report says Capt. Michael Davidson should have changed the...

El Faro's Owners File Suit: Wreck Wasn't Our Fault

TOTE Maritime suggests ship's captain may have changed plan

(Newser) - Hours before the El Faro was apparently found , the cargo ship's owner asked a Florida court for "exoneration from or limitation of liability … for any and all losses or damages," reports CNN . TOTE Maritime said it "exercised due diligence" in ensuring the vessel was in...

Navy Finds Wreckage of Ship That Went Down in Hurricane

Sonar shows wreck consistent with cargo ship El Faro in 15K feet of water

(Newser) - A US Navy search team Saturday found what is believed to be the wreckage of El Faro, the cargo ship that went missing Oct. 1 in the Bahamas after sailing into Hurricane Joaquin, reports CNN . "The target identified by Orion (side-scan radar) is consistent with a 790-foot cargo ship,...

Wife of Missing El Faro Engineer Is Pregnant With Twins

Katie Griffin speaks out

(Newser) - In July, Katie and Keith Griffin found out they were expecting. On Sept. 24, they found out they were expecting twins. "He was out on sea but I called him on Facebook Messenger because I wanted to see his face," Katie tells People . "He was so happy...

Search for Survivors of Sunken Cargo Ship Ends Tonight

But one dad is 'still optimistic'

(Newser) - The Coast Guard plans to end its search for 33 missing crew members from a US cargo ship that sank last week during Hurricane Joaquin, officials told family members Wednesday. The Coast Guard said it will end its search for survivors from the El Faro on Wednesday evening, according to...

Cargo Ship Probe to Seek Answers to 2 Questions

As El Faro families still hold out hope

(Newser) - On board the 790-foot El Faro when it set out on its doomed voyage into the path of Hurricane Joaquin were five Polish workers whose jobs were to prepare the engine room for a retrofitting. Could that work have caused the loss of power that led to the US container...

SC Devastated Yet Again as 18 Dams Let Loose

Governor says it may just be start of crisis after 'storm of historic proportions'

(Newser) - Eleven deaths have been reported and at least 18 South Carolina dams have breached or failed completely since Saturday, per the state's emergency management agency, leaving the region reeling in the aftermath of its torrential weekend storm , CNN reports. Of the 11 deaths, seven were from drowning and four...

'Mechanical Failure' Doomed Cargo Ship

Loss of such a big ship is extremely rare, experts say

(Newser) - The captain of the El Faro planned to sail ahead of Hurricane Joaquin, but the cargo ship was doomed by a mechanical failure that left it at the mercy of the storm, according to the vessel's owner. The CEO of Tote Services says the captain, who was last heard...

Coast Guard Finds Body, Says Missing Ship Is Presumed Lost

Coast Guard says El Faro likely sank at its last known position

(Newser) - The Coast Guard says a body has been found in the search for a cargo ship that disappeared in the eye of Hurricane Joaquin carrying 33 crew members. In addition to life rings and other debris from the 790-foot El Faro, Capt. Mark Fedor says "less than a handful"...

Oil Slick Spotted Near Where Missing Ship Hit Hurricane

Search resumes for El Faro as weather improves

(Newser) - Aircraft returned to the southeastern Bahamas early Sunday to resume the search for a US cargo ship that has not been heard from since it was caught in Hurricane Joaquin, and the Coast Guard quickly said it spotted "life jackets, life rings, containers, and an oil sheen" in the...

SC Clobbered By Once-in-1,000-Years Rain

Two feet of water fell out of the sky in places

(Newser) - The southeastern United States is pretty soaked right now, but don't complain to South Carolina, which has taken an eye-popping amount of rain since Saturday and is under a state of emergency. A look around at the wake of Hurricane Joaquin:
  • Columbia apparently bore the brunt of the storm,
...

Cargo Ship Disappears Near Eye of Hurricane

Coast Guard is searching for the El Faro and its 33 crew members

(Newser) - The Coast Guard has not been able to reestablish contact with an American cargo ship that disappeared near the eye of Hurricane Joaquin after taking on water and losing power, Action News Jacksonville reports. There are 28 US citizens and five Polish nationals on board. The 735-foot El Faro left...

What Could Happen Even If Joaquin Doesn't Hit

Storm staying out at sea so far, but it will probably still rain hard on land

(Newser) - Hurricane Joaquin remains a Category 4 storm that's currently battering the Bahamas, but the East Coast may dodge one bullet this weekend if the storm keeps to its offshore path, Weather.com and CNN report. Tracking maps show Joaquin solidly out in the Atlantic and set to keep veering...

14 Stories