RSSThe Search for Missing Cargo Ship El Faro Finds 225 Sq. Mile Debris Field Found After Ship Vanishes in Hurricane Joaquin (Missing ID’s: Jeremy Riehm, Steven Shultz and Keith Griffin)
The Coast Guard continues to search for the missing US flagged cargo ship El Faro that vanished during Hurricane Joaquin. Searches have found a 225-square-mile debris field. According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Edward Vallee, “At the time the ship went missing, Joaquin was churning through the southeastern Bahamas with winds sustained at 125 mph. Seas were observed up to 30 feet along with blinding rain and strong winds.”
A 225-square-mile “debris field” was discovered by crews looking for signs of a cargo ship carrying 28 Americans that vanished during Hurricane Joaquin — a frantic search entering its fifth day.
The Coast Guard said it had scoured 70,000 square nautical miles of the Atlantic as the search resumed at daybreak Monday.
Jeremy Riehm, 46, Steven Shultz, 51, and Keith Griffin named by their families as among the missing
Three more Americans were identified among the 33 people on board the El Faro container vessel, which hasn’t been heard from since Thursday. A distress call indicated it had lost power and was taking on water as it sailed through the Bahamas at the height of the hurricane.
South Florida men Jeremy Riehm, 46, and Steven Shultz, 51, were named by their families as among the missing, according to NBC affiliate WBBH. A third American was identified as Keith Griffin.
CNN: Coast Guard finds debris field in search for El Faro.
Sadly, the fact that the US Coast Guard has found an oil slick in the debris field may mean that the ship broke apart.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported Sunday evening that it had discovered a 225-square-mile debris field in the Caribbean Sea during its search for missing container ship El Faro.
The Jacksonville, Florida-based El Faro, which was carrying a crew of 28 Americans and five Polish nationals on its way to San Juan, Puerto Rico, went missing near the Bahamas last week as Hurricane Joaquin, with winds blowing at 130 mph, passed over the archipelago.
Sunday’s discovery of the debris field, which consisted of Styrofoam, wood, cargo and other items, according the Coast Guard, came only hours after the agency said searchers had found “multiple items,” including an oil sheen, life jackets and containers in the same search area.
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UPDATE
Mon Oct 5, 2015
Body found in search for U.S. ship that vanished in hurricane
Coast Guard vessels and aircrews continued to search for the missing crew – 28 U.S. citizens and five Polish nationals – but Fedor acknowledged they had faced steep odds against survival in the storm’s dangerous conditions.
“We’re not going to discount somebody’s will to survive and that’s why we’re still searching today,” he said.
Crews were unable to identify the one body found so far, discovered wearing a survival suit on Sunday, Fedor said. A lifeboat found among other debris from the ship was one of two that it had been carrying, each with a capacity for 43 people.
The ship was carrying 391 containers “so it had a lot of topside height to it where the winds and waves could hit it,” Fedor said. There were also 294 trailers and automobiles below deck adding to its weight, he added.
The ocean where it sank is 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) deep and part of a heavily transited channel for large ships.
On Sunday, the Coast Guard spotted two large debris fields about 60 miles apart littered with items identified as coming from El Faro, including Styrofoam, cargo doors and 55-gallon drums. ….
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/05/us-storm-joaquin-ship-idUSKCN0RZ1EQ20151005
This is so sad for the families of these men. What a heartache.