East coast may have some sand moved for you - SADS stay safe

[dieselram94]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Coast Guard plans to end its search for 33 missing crew members from a U.S. 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 Robert Green, father of LaShawn Rivera. He said the Coast Guard informed relatives during a briefing at the Seafarers Internatonal Union hall in Jacksonville that the search would end between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Despite the decision, Green said, "I think we're still hopeful. Miracles do happen, and it's God's way only. I'm prayerful, hopeful and still optimistic."

The 790-foot cargo ship sank Thursday off the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin, a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds that was producing 50-foot waves. Officials say the ship's captain had plans to go around the storm as he headed from Jacksonville, Florida, to Puerto Rico but the El Faro suffered unexplained engine failure that left it unable to avoid the storm.

Earlier, federal investigators said they still hope to recover a data recorder from the ship as search crews continue looking for any survivors.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to Jacksonville on Tuesday to begin the agency's inquiry, which will help determine why the captain, crew and owners of El Faro decided to risk sailing in stormy waters.

"We will be looking at everything. So, we leave no stone unturned in our investigation and our analysis. We want to find every bit of information that we possibly can," Bella Dinh-Zarr, NTSB vice-chairman, said.

In addition to the voyage data recorder — which begins pinging when it gets wet and has a 30-day battery life — the board will focus on communications between the captain and the vessel's owner.

Another question is whether the five workers whose job was to prepare the engine room for a retrofitting had any role in the boat's loss of power, which set the vessel adrift in the stormy seas. Officials from Tote Inc., the vessel's owner, say they don't believe so. But the question — along with the captain's decision to plot a course near the storm — will help investigators figure out why the boat apparently sank near the Bahamas, possibly claiming the lives of all 33 aboard.

The ship is believed to have gone down in 15,000 feet of water after reporting its last known position last Thursday. One unidentified body has been found.

"It's just a tragic, tragic situation," Dinh-Zarr said.

The 41-year-old El Faro was scheduled to be retired from Caribbean duty and retrofitted in the coming months for service between the West Coast and Alaska, said Tote executive Phil Greene.

The El Faro and its equally aged sister vessel were being replaced on the Jacksonville-to-Puerto Rico run by two brand-new ships capable of carrying much more cargo and emitting less pollution.

When the El Faro left Jacksonville on Sept. 29, five workers from Poland came along with 28 U.S. crew members to do some preparatory work in the engine room, according to Greene. He gave no details on the nature of their work.

"I don't believe based on the work they were doing that they would have had anything to do with what affected the propulsion," said Greene, a retired Navy admiral.

The El Faro had no history of engine failure, Greene said, and the company said the vessel was modernized in 1992 and 2006. Company records show it underwent its last annual Coast Guard inspection in March.

"We don't have all the answers. I'm sorry for that. I wish we did," Anthony Chiarello, said Tote Inc.'s president and CEO. "But we will find out what happened."

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.

F. John Nicoll, a retired captain who spent years piloting the run to Puerto Rico, said he doubts the age of the El Faro was a factor, noting that there are many older ships plying U.S. waters without incident.

He predicted the NTSB will look into whether company pressure to deliver the cargo on time despite the menacing weather played a role in the tragedy — something Tote executives have denied.

"Time and money are an important thing" in the shipping industry, Nicoll said. He said there should be emails and other messages between the captain and the company to help answer the question.

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. The loss of power left it vulnerable to the storm's 140-mph winds and battering waves more than 50 feet high.

They said Davidson was in regular communication before the storm with the company, which can override a captain's decisions.

Davidson attended the Maine Maritime Academy and has a home in Windham, Maine.

"He was a very squared-away sailor, very meticulous with details, very prudent, which is important when you're working on the water. He took his job seriously," said Nick Mavadones, a friend since childhood and general manager of Casco Bay Lines, where he and Davidson worked together.

Still, seafarers who have long experience in the Caribbean say its weather can be treacherous.

"It can go from calm, in a matter of five or six hours, to hell," said Angel Ortiz, who retired as a merchant mariner after 39 years.

This is a very tragic event...Danielle Randolph (second mate) was a friend of my wife's. I barely knew her unlike my wife and her sister...This just flat out sucks...


Sent from a spun out toilet paper tube (one ply)!

 

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[TreasureCDave]

This is a very tragic event...Danielle Randolph (second mate) was a friend of my wife's. I barely knew her unlike my wife and her sister...This just flat out sucks...


Sent from a spun out toilet paper tube (one ply)!

Very unfortunate you had a personal connection to this event. Sorry for that and it does suck. Apparently there was a propulsion malfunction that prevented the ship to get out of harms way (as the Captain intended)

This is a current day example of why we have so many wrecks in the Florida Straits and Caribbean. Even with all the GPS and weather data ... these shipwrecks continue to occur.

 

[old man]

I heard from sads669 today. Kevin is doing Ok and he thanks everyone who has contributed to helping HIS NEIGHBORS. That's just like Kevin. He is concerned with helping everyone else.

 

[TreasureCDave]

I heard from sads669 today. Kevin is doing Ok and he thanks everyone who has contributed to helping HIS NEIGHBORS. That's just like Kevin. He is concerned with helping everyone else.

Thanks OM, I contributed what little I could, not because I knew the man, but what I gained about him here over the past year. I know he will make a good decision on what to do with the funds garnered here.

On a side note. Back when hurricane Ivan hit the Caymans .... much of the goodwill sent to the island was taken by the ppl in the government (family and friends of government officials)

Months later, I had a well known celebrity visit the restaurant I ran and he asked me if we received the care package he sent. Sad to say we didn't and this was a common theme for a long time. Essentials like bottled water, food rations and generators got "misplaced".

That is why I'm glad we have a way to get a few bucks to someone who is very responsible and kind hearted.

 

[old man]

Thanks OM, I contributed what little I could, not because I knew the man, but what I gained about him here over the past year. I know he will make a good decision on what to do with the funds garnered here.

On a side note. Back when hurricane Ivan hit the Caymans .... much of the goodwill sent to the island was taken by the ppl in the government (family and friends of government officials)

Months later, I had a well known celebrity visit the restaurant I ran and he asked me if we received the care package he sent. Sad to say we didn't and this was a common theme for a long time. Essentials like bottled water, food rations and generators got "misplaced".

That is why I'm glad we have a way to get a few bucks to someone who is very responsible and kind hearted.

TreasureCdave, sads669 is one of a kind. I have no doubt that he will make sure his neighbors are taken care of. That was evident when he took two elderly ladies into his home during the hurricane to make sure of their welfare.

 

[SADS 669]

Well like an old penny I have been able to return. I am sat outside the phone company in my truck at 5 am ( wi fi better when there are not a hundred people around) thanks so much for all the kind words above and I will post a bit of info about the storm later.



We don't need anything at the moment, I have my house and my two elderly pensioner neighbors house dry and lash up repairs completed to keep them that way. I hope to go to Nassau early next week to fill up a big old Penske with shingles, tar paper etc to make a difference down here.



The relief effort is a little slow and clunky at the moment but the Royal Navy is here so they are making a huge difference. The sales of rum has shot up though so one business is doing well even though his shop has no front.



I will be in touch, thanks again, you guys are the best.......

 

[CaptEsteban]

After hurricanes go thru Florida, " Weasels" come out of the woodwork & gouge people with high prices or scam labor work . Our donations can help some of those extra costs.