October 3, 2017
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 …
April 13, 2017
Rochelle Hamm’s eyes fill with tears when she reads her terrified husband’s last words -muttered as the cargo freighter El Faro went down in hurricane, taking the lives of Frank Hamm and 32 others. “My feet are slipping! I’m goin’ …
December 16, 2016
Crew members aboard a doomed cargo ship expressed increasingly dire concern – occasionally tinged with gallows humor – as a hurricane gained strength, culminating in one crewman lamenting “I’m a goner” as they scrambled to abandon the listing ship, transcripts …
August 12, 2016
Search crews have retrieved the “black box” from the wreckage of the freighter El Faro that sank in 15,000-feet of water near the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin last year, officials said Tuesday. Using a remotely operated vehicle in the pitch …
May 19, 2016
A second round of investigative hearings into the sinking of the freighter El Faro began Monday seeking new information about the vessel’s stability and whether there were mistakes in weather forecasting or cargo loading before the ship’s final voyage. The …
February 29, 2016
When an initial report arrived saying the captain of the cargo ship El Faro had called ashore for help, the U.S. Coast Guard didn’t believe the vessel was at risk of sinking and later had software problems while preparing a …
February 23, 2016
An inspection conducted on the boilers of a ship before it sank in a hurricane last fall found parts that had “deteriorated severely” or needed to be replaced, but company engineers believed it was still safe enough to set sail, …
November 2, 2015
Investigators will use a deep ocean vehicle to help confirm whether wreckage that searchers found in 15,000 feet of water east of the Bahamas is the cargo ship El Faro that vanished during Hurricane Joaquin. The U.S. National Transportation Safety …
October 29, 2015
When the latest computer forecast models couldn’t figure out where major Hurricane Joaquin was headed earlier this month, the National Weather Service ordered extra launches of one of its oldest tools – the weather balloon. Twice a day, in what …
October 16, 2015
The family of a sailor aboard the cargo ship that sunk in roiling seas whipped up by Hurricane Joaquin filed a $100 million lawsuit Wednesday against the vessel’s owner and captain. Willie Gary, a Jacksonville attorney representing the family of …