NTSB: Wreckage Believed to be Missing Ship El Faro Found
A search group on board a U.S. Navy tug has discovered what they imagine is the wreckage of the lacking American cargo ship El Faro within the search space off the Bahamas, the NTSB mentioned in an replace late Saturday.
UPDATE (Nov 2) – El Faro Found – NTSB Confirms Wreckage is Missing Cargo Ship
The vessel was situated at a depth of about 15,000 ft within the neighborhood of the final identified place.
The NTSB mentioned the goal recognized is in keeping with a 790-foot cargo ship, which from sonar photos seems to be in an upright place and in a single piece.
The El Faro and its 33 crew members have been lacking for the reason that ship sank in Hurricane Joaquin on October 1, 2015. Its final identified place was roughly 36 miles northeast off Crooked Island.
The NTSB replace on Saturday mentioned refined sonar tools towed by the contracted tug USNS Apache first detected what are believed to be photos of the vessel utilizing side-scan sonar at about 1:36 pm ET on October 31 throughout the fifth of 13 deliberate search line surveys.
SEE ALSO: Salvage Team Looking to Confirm Wreckage
To verify the discovering, specialists on Apache will use a deep ocean remotely operated car to survey and make sure the id of the wreckage, the NTSB mentioned. The survey might start as quickly as Sunday, November 1.
If the vessel is confirmed to be the lacking El Faro, the ROV might be outfitted with a video digital camera and can begin the documentation of the vessel. This will embody the particles discipline and try and find and get well the voyage information recorder. Those operations are anticipated to take as much as 15 days to finish in superb situations however might take longer relying on climate and situations encountered throughout the documentation course of, the NTSB mentioned.
The USNS Apache has been on scene trying to find El Faro since October 23.
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