US-Flagged Merchant Vessel, the SS EL Faro with 28 Americans and 5 others on board, goes missing. Have you seen this? *Update #1/2**

SN Greg Wright — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 17:32:11 -0400

Thoughts and hopes go out to my fellow Merchant Marines and hope that their ship is just dark, and not visiting Davey Jones. If they've gone down...well. I'll wait for more news. They issued a distress call to the CG, who is searching for them, but I've not heard whether or not their EPIRBs activated -- which would indicate a high probability of sinking.

Having said that, it's HIGHLY unusual for an American ship to lose contact like this, but losing propulsion in a storm is bad news for ANY kind of ship...

For the record, even if the El Faro sank, modern Merchant vessels have VERY good lifeboats, and Sailors are required to train on them at least once a week (just like their Navy counterparts). So there's a good chance that they're still alive, out there. If so, the CG will find them.

"At approximately 7:30 a.m. on Oct 1, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Atlantic Area command center in Portsmouth, Virginia, received an Inmarsat satellite notification stating the "El Faro" was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list. The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained. "

********Update #1********

Sunday the CG found a life ring, life jackets, shipping containers, and an oil slick. It's confirmed that the ring and containers are from the SS El Faro. At this point, it's not looking good. No definite confirmation that she's gone down, but....It might be time to move expectations to, hopefully, locating some life boats.

*******Update 2******

It saddens me to say that the El Faro is now assumed lost at sea. The CG has found a large debris field containing many items one expects to see from such an incident. They have recovered one lifeboat that was empty. They found one crewman in a survival suit who was deceased. Mariners are trained to get into them in the water if they need to, so this doesn't tell us if they had time before a sudden catastrophic event, ie capsizing. The empty lifeboat worries me. Short of a sudden capsize, they should have had time to board either a boat or raft. My heart is heavy for the loss of fellow mariners, and my sympathy goes out to families who are anxiously waiting news.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/hurricane-joaquin/index.html

Hurricane Joaquin: Ship lost, U.S. flooding expected - CNN.com

A ship whose crew includes 28 Americans is missing near the eye of Hurricane Joaquin as it readies to send possibly historic flooding to the U.S. East Coast this weekend.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 2 at 2015 5:33 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 17:33:22 -0400

No I had not seen this news SN Greg Wright. Thank you for sharing.
I concur with you and hope and pray that the 28 Merchant Marine sailors are safe and will soon be found unharmed.

Response by 1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 5:36 PM

1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 17:36:20 -0400

First I heard of it. I hope these guys are alright.

Response by SSgt Terry P. made Oct 2 at 2015 5:51 PM

SSgt Terry P. — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 17:51:51 -0400

SN Greg Wright With today's technology it surprises me that a ship can be lost,unless it is sunk almost immediately.I do hope they are found and alive.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 6:05 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 18:05:09 -0400

This is the first time I heard about this. Thank you for letting us know.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 6:08 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 18:08:35 -0400

Prayers!

Response by MAJ David Wallace made Oct 2 at 2015 6:26 PM

MAJ David Wallace — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 18:26:37 -0400

Last i heard the ship was in the path of the hurricane with a 15-degree list; never good on the best of days. Really respect the Merchant Marine. My grandfather was a chief carpenter aboard several Liberty ships making the Lend-Lease runs into Murmansk......wish I had known him better. Pray for our Merchant Marine Sailors currently in harm's way!

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 3 at 2015 11:50 AM

SGT Christopher King — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 11:50:11 -0400

My prayers and thoughts go out to all my fellow merchant marines! Bring my merchant marine brothers home! SIU(seafarers international Union) manned vessels are some of the most highly trained merchant marines if there is a way to survive the storm they WILL/HAVE found it! From a concerned Siu member!

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 4 at 2015 8:09 AM

SGT Christopher King — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 08:09:35 -0400

The coast guard has reportedly found a life ring from the SS El Faro! This is good and bad news. Good news because they can use their knowledge of the seas to track the path of the life ring from wind direction and currents to follow where it may have possibly came from. Bad because it is a sign the vessel may be sunk OR as simple as the ring being blown from its holder on the vessel with high winds in either case if it was blown from the vessel the coast guard could spend precious time chasing their tails trying to find the location of where it originated from

Response by PO2 Jonathan Scharff made Oct 4 at 2015 6:53 PM

PO2 Jonathan Scharff — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 18:53:05 -0400

Unfortunately, we know a young man who is on that ship. I'm sure all the families are going crazy with worry. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of them.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 4 at 2015 6:53 PM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 18:53:42 -0400

Well that's why we train. For incidents like this. My prayers go out to the crew and their families.

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Oct 4 at 2015 7:41 PM

LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 19:41:01 -0400

This is horrible news. As a ship driver, I have to wonder though, what were they doing in the storm. Surely merchants know that dying isn't worth a few gallons of fuel...

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 4 at 2015 9:38 PM

SGT Christopher King — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 21:38:40 -0400

This is the company website set up for any updates and late breaking news.

http://elfaroincident.com/el-faro-updates/tote-media-release-10-4-15-1230pm-est/

Response by SPC David S. made Oct 4 at 2015 10:30 PM

SPC David S. — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 22:30:39 -0400

Last report on Thursday was 15 degree list and taking water - doesn't sound good.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Oct 5 at 2015 2:51 AM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 02:51:35 -0400

I heard the Coast Guard recovered a Life Ring or something. Sad, sad, sad. The Ocean is a very unforgiving Mistress which US Sea Service Veterans know all to well.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 8:05 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 08:05:20 -0400

SN Greg Wright and PO1 William "Chip" Nagel I checked on this. The Coast Guard reported finding a lifering and a life jacket among the debris in the search area. Briefings are being given at the Seafarers Union Hall in Jacksonville, FL.. The reports are not looking good, but I hold out hope even though we're beyond 72 hours. The next press conference will be at 10 AM EST.

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 5 at 2015 9:15 AM

SGT Christopher King — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 09:15:41 -0400

1000hrs coast guard to conduct press conference on the el faro

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 5 at 2015 12:54 PM

SGT Christopher King — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 12:54:20 -0400

Latest update from the USCG press conference! 1 person has been found deceased in their survival(gumby) suit. The body was so degraded they are not able to tell who it is. Furthermore they have announced they have changed their search tactics and believe and are assuming the vessel SS EL FARO has sank. They have found a life boat that had nobody in it as well as several life rafts. All were extensively damaged. My deepest and heart felt condolences goes out to those families still waiting in limbo to find their loved ones lost at sea. It truly saddens me to see that we have lost several of our brothers and sisters from the fourth arm of defense! When names are released I will let you all know and if I have ever sailed with any which is a very strong likelihood!

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 14 at 2015 9:15 AM

SGT Christopher King — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 09:15:59 -0400

It's a damn shame that the USCG called off the search after only three physical days of searching. The world searched for that Malaysian airliner for several months but only 3 physical days for the Mariners that carry the worlds commerce everywhere!!

Response by SGT Christopher King made Nov 2 at 2015 8:33 AM

SGT Christopher King — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 08:33:21 -0500

10/31/15 USN Finds what is believed to be the El Faro over 3 miles down sitting upright our greatest hope is they have found the vessel and can recover the data recorder and remains of the personnel to bring closure to their families!

US-Flagged Merchant Vessel, the SS EL Faro with 28 Americans and 5 others on board, goes missing. Have you seen this? ***Update #1/2****

US-Flagged Merchant Vessel, the SS EL Faro with 28 Americans and 5 others on board, goes missing. Have you seen this? ***Update #1/2****

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 2 at 2015 5:33 PM

Response by 1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 5:36 PM

Response by SSgt Terry P. made Oct 2 at 2015 5:51 PM

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 6:05 PM

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 6:08 PM

Response by MAJ David Wallace made Oct 2 at 2015 6:26 PM

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 3 at 2015 11:50 AM

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 4 at 2015 8:09 AM

Response by PO2 Jonathan Scharff made Oct 4 at 2015 6:53 PM

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 4 at 2015 6:53 PM

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Oct 4 at 2015 7:41 PM

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 4 at 2015 9:38 PM

Response by SPC David S. made Oct 4 at 2015 10:30 PM

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Oct 5 at 2015 2:51 AM

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 8:05 AM

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 5 at 2015 9:15 AM

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 5 at 2015 12:54 PM

Response by SGT Christopher King made Oct 14 at 2015 9:15 AM

Response by SGT Christopher King made Nov 2 at 2015 8:33 AM

US-Flagged Merchant Vessel, the SS EL Faro with 28 Americans and 5 others on board, goes missing. Have you seen this? *Update #1/2**

US-Flagged Merchant Vessel, the SS EL Faro with 28 Americans and 5 others on board, goes missing. Have you seen this? *Update #1/2**