Sinking of US Cargo Vessel SS El Faro

[@FLaDave351]

The Crew was aware they were heading right for a hurricane the whole voyage, and this was per the captains orders. The captain never even came out of his cabin till it was too late. The coast guard said they would have revoked the captains license if he would have survived.

[@seansteele1269]

Amble Lane Howard Schoenly the 2nd engineer on El Faro if Captain Davidson survived his license would be the least of his worries

[@thedigitalproductevolution3379]

Was this Possible a Suicide Run For the Ship Master?

[@hoot1141]

@@thedigitalproductevolution3379 Didn’t sound like it. It really sounds like incompetence.

[@Richard-zc1cj]

Whatever happened to a good old mutiny? The crew needs to think about themselves when I think the captain is a blanking idiot.

[@C_AVATAR]

@@hoot1141 Arrogance, incompetence and gross negligence. RIP to the crew except for the Capt.

[@JeffCowan]

Gross negligence.

[@timenright3897]

He paid the ultimate price.

[@mrgreen2570]

My childhood friend Rafal Zdobych was one of the crew. RIP

[@Brotha00]

Mr Green RIP

[@TempleofAmon666]

Mr Green he was one of the polish crew?

[@TempleofAmon666]

iah se there were no survivors

[@rosspbarnett458]

@iah se Yes they all died !

[@djbloo8996]

Yeah

[@selec21]

This is a case where you throw the captain overboard, And save 32 lives.

[@hermanbruner2913]

Stupid you are. Working at sea is not black and white especially when you are a captain.

[@motorcop505]

Herman Bruner Actually it very much is a black and white issue. Just like being pregnant, you either are or you aren't. The crew either lived or they didn't, and they most certainly didn't. The captain gets paid more for their judgement over and above their experience. Any shipping line that doesn't recognize this isn't one that you should work for in the first place.

[@SvenTviking]

@@hermanbruner2913 The captain is the responsible officer. He chose an unreliable weather forecast system, could not be bothered to get out of his bunk, could not be bothered to download the inaccurate weather forecast. He’s responsible, that’s what he gets paid for, he’s captain.

[@roseg.4354]

Exactly..

[@roseg.4354]

Exactly

[@divox9pqr]

Gross hubris and negligence.....Rest In Peace all members of the crew.

[@jamesboerner4172]

100% agree.

[@mudchair16]

12 hours behind NHC? You might as well use tarot cards.

[@fuzzypony]

or flip a coin. or consult a magic 8-ball.

[@BackyardBeeKeepingNuevo]

Schlomo Weissbergman-Goldsteinwitz, Ph.D. I prefer tea leaves or if I am feeling really risky I’ll roll the bones.

[@mdlclassworker3384]

What was the companies liability on this, why did they utilize old forecast

[@Venezolano410]

I prefer to roll percentile dice.

[@munky123jw]

call the psychic hot line with Miss Cleo for a reading!

[@tm13tube]

As captain, heading towards a hurricane I'd want every report updated asap. Shame the crew had to die because the captain was too lazy to stay up to date on their position in relation to the hurricane. Inexplicable, like the captain of the Bounty.

[@vicmclaglen1631]

7:20 Agreed; those couple sentences are particularly damning. Why, especially given the situation you are already in? Poor bastards.

[@geoh7777]

After years at sea churning the distance away, it must become quite something of a boredom to some seamen. Also, sometimes corporate is adamant about not diverging course from the most direct one.

[@rubenmagtotosr5691]

captain is old sick and depressed to process the disaster approaching

[@fuzzypony]

@@rubenmagtotosr5691 Pretty stupid statement you've made there.

[@rubenmagtotosr5691]

fuzzy point stop directing hate comments be polite in using the internet its not in my spirit to fomment hatred we as christians celebrate christmas to spread love of our Lord Jesus Christ and his eternal salvation if you were objective my comment wasnt even attacking the captains character but his disadvantaged state and the distressing affairs they went through to dignify them my goodness you really narrowed it down to shallow animosity on your part have a heart

[@ronaldgreen8423]

I've been on a ship during a light rain storm. And that was terrifying to me so I could imagine the terror the crew went thru.

[@patconlon7835]

---i dont think anyone was "sleeping"--They were in the middle of a Stage 3 Hurricane--A lot of noise---Stuff crashing around--- Alarms going off--The whole engine department was up, i assume, trying to keep the ship afloat--The steward dept. would of been up at 5 am--The only person that got a good nites sleep was the Captain

[@SkylersWorldofGaming]

Pat Conlon Named Micheal

[@djbloo8996]

@@SkylersWorldofGaming scott

[@hometownmedic7355]

It is unlikely that he got a “good” nights sleep; but the quality of what little sleep he did get is irrelevant. Weather that bad, he should have been up to the bridge to check on things no less than hourly, if he left at all. He picked the wrong source to trust, and it cost him his life, so no further payment is due from him. Sad for sure, but as an amalgamation of other posts have said, greed and mismanagement on the part of the ship owners combined with ignorance and hubris on the part of the ships master met to create a deadly situation, one that is sadly not uncommon in the industry. Time and tides wait for no man. If you don’t get the job done, they will for damn sure find a man who will.

[@motorcop505]

HomeTown Medic And he damn sure didn't get it done. This was all due to the captain, end of story.

[@evidenceismygod9992]

I worked on that ships boilers a year before she sank while we sailed from puerto Rico to mobile Alabama where we dry docked and worked on el faro for another month. This is sad a little creepy for me. Rip to all the souls lost...

[@Matt-mo8sl]

And the thought of 2nd mate, Danielle Randolph knowing they were headed directly into a hurricane the day before because she emailed her family saying they're headed straight for it, I can't imagine what she must had been feeling knowing that she knew they were headed for trouble and she knew how to get out of it long before but her advice was ignored. It was her watch during the overnight hours where the weather went down hill REAL fast. The only thing this gal was guilty of was being a loyal sailor who obviously was not will to break the chain of command as she had the chance to turn that ship of of harm's way while the captain was sleeping like a baby in his cabin and would have had no idea until he got up at 4am to see they were headed off HIS course and out of danger.

[@thomasridley8675]

Why would any ship depend on data 6 hrs old. This was totally on the captain.

[@TechOut]

No it’s not. The was just the delay from the NWS updates had nothing to do with the captain. You don’t get live detailed weather minute by minute in the middle of the ocean

[@thomasridley8675]

@@TechOut He had several chances to divert and he didn't. He knew he was heading into a class 3 and still did nothing. He failed in his duty to protect the ship. As captain all the blame is on his shoulders. We will never know why he was so stubborn.

[@TechOut]

@thomasridley8675 I didn't say that didn't happen i said the BVS data being 6 hours old was the system not him

[@thomasridley8675]

@@TechOut I reviewed the post again and my opinion stands. He had plenty of warnings from several different sources. His crew even recommended a divertion to stear clear of the storm based on that information. He didnt.

[@comanche180]

Good job by NTSB, as always. Vanity Fair had an excellent article on this with background information about the pressure that the crews were subject to to make the trips on schedule and with the least amount of fuel burn possible. Blame the Shipping execs!

[@fuzzypony]

@Rich NO. Whilst the Captain *does* have the authority, he also must answer to those execs comanche mentioned. Shorbound execs with no sea-going experience often take a dim view of a ship being delayed.

[@manatee2500]

fuzzypony The owners lose their ability to limit their liability when they interfere with the judgment of the master.

[@djbloo8996]

@Rich and lose his job yep rich genius so simple

[@McRocket]

@@djbloo8996 Better than losing his life and his crew's lives as well. That - in peacetime - should ALWAYS be the Captain's first thought...his job a distant second.

[@McRocket]

comanche180 - sure, if the execs put the captain under pressure - blame them...to a point. But the Captain has a duty to his crew. No matter what pressure he/she is under, he should not put his ship into a dangerous situation. I blame the captain first, the execs second.

[@jamesboerner4172]

Despite how ghastly and even a bit negligent the whole thing is, this is absolutely wonderful work! Truly a fine accounting of what took place - professional and educational.

[@alanmaroney8395]

that ship was moored in Baltimore harbor well over a year and did not move. ship looked in horrible shape and a rusting heap. hard to believe that was sea worthy

[@seansteele1269]

Alan Maroney my brother was 2nd engineer on El Faro when it sank he told me the ship was a piece of shit many times.

[@golightly5121]

Alan Maroney : The whole story has a hoax feeling to it.

[@fuzzypony]

A good question to ask the management at Totes Services as well.

[@ransom182]

Go Lightly oh lord… here we go… 🙄

[@u686st7]

It was in Baltimore for several years, first at Port Covington then at the old Pennsy coal pier on Clinton St.

[@byLokie]

Holy Ghosts. The VDR was recovered 10 months after the vessel sank. Still retaining the last 26 hours of sailing

[@RubenKelevra]

Yeah I mean, that's what it was designed to do.

[@byLokie]

@@RubenKelevra No Mate. I wasn’t surprised by the VDR still being operational. I was surprised that they managed to find it 10 months later. I mean still searching 10 months after is commitment. They spent same tie on MH370 and found neither recorders

[@RubenKelevra]

@@byLokie well, the ship got tracking until the end and has also send a distress signal. So it was just a matter of finding the position which it travelled after it started sinking plus the underwater travel it made before reaching the ground. As ships are dead slow compared to airplanes that's a much easier task than finding an aircraft with none of that

[@byLokie]

@@RubenKelevra ummmmm. Pretty much

[@robm4526]

I remember reading stories about how El Faro & the crew used to brag about sailing through violent storm systems.. This wasn't their first rodeo, but was unfortunately their last. Seems to be due to the arrogance of a cocky captain.

[@suzannetaylor5374]

The captain bragged about the weather in the Alaskian seas where El faro had been working.I think he had no idea how bad a hurricane can get.

[@TacticalOkuu]

The ship had also operated in Iraq where it somehow took a few explosions from missiles with no major damage, at that point they probably thought they were invincible since. Though the ship was a fossil that shouldn't have even been sailing at all.

[@thedigitalproductevolution3379]

crew may have bragged but not like the CEO Did at that time

[@rosspbarnett458]

El Faro is deeper then the Titanic ! 40 + foot waves and 100 + MPH winds, how could anyone survive !

[@JamminClemmons]

15,000 feet of water just off the coast of San Salvador----What the hell! That's nearly 3 miles. I hadn't a clue. - RIP to those lost.

[@garrydavis3475]

My heart goes out to the families of the crew as well as the family of the captain who made the fatal decisions

[@yolo_burrito]

They were sued by the ships owner within 30 days of the sinking.

[@mikehartman5326]

A more detailed video of this sinking called Disastrous Indifference by Brick Immortar which is over an hour long point the blame at the captain for refusing to take the advise of others on the bridge. His convictions that that storm would not be an issue drove him to try and maintain an on time arrival an error he probably realized after it was too late.

[@ellisjackson3355]

I saw that video and have been on an el faro binge for the past few days. Because even though I'm not a sailor, I could still see myself on that ship.......RIP

[@englebergsmith5420]

Captain was a fool.

[@cindytepper8878]

Listing bad enough that the sumps were starving the engines for oil. WTH, at that point you know things aren't going to end well. Nothing like ending up dead in the water in the middle of a hurricane

[@AWildPenguin]

Terrible captain + Terrible delayed weather data = Avoidable tragedy.

[@zakelwe]

There is company pressure on ships to complete trips of course. In this case the captain did not seem to be under pressure, indeed the company did not even know where the ship was, which is a poor mark on them already. He asked for a change of route on the way back to avoid the storm and also he had changed route previously to go above Cuba for a prior storm. My summary is 1.This was a very unusual storm with track and intensity, the predictions were all wrong. Note NHC best track is with hindsight. 2. The ships went to sea consistently with not enough sump oil as recommended so in big swells the intake could get an airlock and stop the engines. 3. The cargo was not lashed correctly, no storm lashings was done one the cars below decks. 4.The captain did not use the best information available and did not be on the bridge when needed, the bridge crew did not press their concerns. 5. A scuttle was left open so leading to water ingress which led to cars sliding about and breaking a fire main that meant the bilge pumps could not shift the amount of water coming in. The captain made some very bad calls all along the voyage. But there is a lot more to it than this, as my points above show. The sister ship was sailing through the storm in the opposite direction at the same time and reported 100 kt winds ... and lived to tell the tail. Nobody comments on her captain ...............

[@someguy9778]

Knowingly headed towards a hurricane with nothing strapped down...From the transcripts, they didn't even have straps on board.

[@amillionemptybranches9553]

Which sister ship?

[@ellisjackson3355]

@@amillionemptybranches9553 a ship called el yunque

[@annaem937]

I just this evening finished listening to the book, "Into the Raging Sea," and drove home to research this tragedy online. I'm left feeling so distressed about the completely unnecessary loss of lives. It's clear that many things conspired to lead to El Faro's fate, as I believe is true with most such tragedies. However, this does not release TOTE from its ultimate moral and ethical responsibility. Every single decision which contributed to the sinking of this ship should have been analyzed and evaluated. The entire ship should have been checked, tested, and remedies applied, especially those discovered to have contributed to its demise. Company procedures should have been reviewed, updated, corrected, or thrown out and new ones written. The only ethical and moral response would have been for TOTE to do precisely what it did not: To take responsibility, even if the company was not completely responsible. In more popular vernacular, TOTE should have grown some. Unconscionable.

[@marvinwatkins8889]

Oh captain, my captain, your pride and arrogance made you screw up and take your crew three miles down with you and your ship. You should've waited it out at Jax and told the bosses and shippers it was for the best. An expensive and tragic lesson.

[@ellisjackson3355]

They probably would've let him do it. Or at least take a detour away from the hurricane

[@geoh7777]

Damn the hurricane, full speed ahead.

[@Matt-mo8sl]

I don't want to crucify a dead man but the captain bares responsibility to craft and crew. The captain along with 3 others on the crew, 2nd mate Danielle Randolph, and engineering crewmen Mike Holland and Dylan Mecklin were all fellow Mainers and Maine Maritime Academy grads and our state was devastated by their loss along with the other 29 brave crew members. If there was every a time for a mutiny, that was probably it. I cannot even imagine the fear those crew members must have felt knowing that the skipper was steering them into the 5th ring of hell even after from what it sounds like in the transcripts, the chief, 2nd and 3rd mates all but begging the skipper to "get out of there". It appears had the skipper either heeded their pleas and or kept up with the weather literally hour by hour, they would have had time to get turned around and either head for Florida or any safe port within the islands. I'm no sailor so I'm fat, dumb and stupid when it comes to this stuff but it just seems to me that this really didn't need to happen. I guess based on the captain's actions or lack there of, had the chief mate tackled the captain and tied him up and he took over command, maybe they'd all be alive today and the El Faro coulda met its natural fate at a scrap yard rather than 3 miles plus under water forever.

[@frankmiller95]

You are generally correct. Had the other deck officers collaborated and overruled the captain, they might well have been exonerated. Even if they had not, they would still have been alive. Having been both a deck officer and captain, trying to protect the financial interests of the vessel's owners and the safety and lives of the crew is a constant balancing act. Lose you balance and lose your job, your ship, or your life ln this case, it's clear that the captain gambled and lost. Speaking from personal experience, l too have gambled and lived to tell the story. Luck played a big part. lt always has and always will. When things go bad at sea, they usually do so in a hurry.

[@tedgey4286]

Preoccupation with the job in hand or a desire not to disturb the skipper should never result in disregard of a rapidly falling barometer.

[@funkagent]

He told the skipper what, 3 times? Who's not disturbing?

[@seansteele1269]

Fuck Captain Davidson he killed my brother on that ship I hope he rots in hell

[@1997Banane]

Sean Thats sad... RIP

[@alimin8r201]

As the saying goes- there are old captains and bold captains but there are no old bold captains.

[@kathyyoung1774]

A hurricane was somewhat unpredictable?. Imagine that!

[@ellisjackson3355]

Hah

[@permartinsen6854]

incompetent captain and a too trustful crew

[@x--.]

too trustful crew? I mean, what are they supposed to do, disobey the Captain's orders? Take over the ship? I'm not being sarcastic here, what choice does a crew have when a Captain is in charge?

[@greenseaships]

Crew did not have a choice. It was literally their jobs to trust the captain. They didn't have any more current weather info than the captain did after all.

[@x--.]

@@greenseaships Actually, unfortunately, the crew did have the more up to date information (well, the 2nd or 3rd mate, I believe it was) during the night shift and attempted to share it with the Captain. Eventually, even the Captain remarked on the updated weather report but took it to mean the weather reports were in conflict; they weren't... one was an out of date prediction, the other was the current report.

[@jonathanbrady5243]

@@x--. Read the book about this. The first and second mate repeatedly tried to get the captain to go the right thing.

[@x--.]

@@jonathanbrady5243 Hey, I have not read the book, so forgive me, but I did read a couple of the reports and it wasn't as clear cut as 'do the right thing.' That makes it sound like they knew what the right thing was and the Captain ignored their life-saving demands. I didn't read it that way -- they knew that the latest weather reports put them closer to the storm but they seemed to assume it wasn't deadly close. If they had realized they were steaming into death, they would have disobeyed orders and changed course while Captain was in his quarters. (To be clear, I'm not absolving the Captain who denied the two requests that he come to the bridge to assess the situation but those requests weren't forceful or desperate pleas).

[@1824arthur]

Have to believe that the ship should never have left the harbor of Jacksonville while a tropical storm was offshore. What was the Captain thinking?

[@fuzzypony]

Likely that he's lose his billet if he didn't get to sea.

[@KB4QAA]

AF; There are always storms at sea, somewhere. The problem is that neither the captain nor the shipping company were performing their duties properly.

[@LIamaLlama554]

Captain and his bosses were in a mindset of profits over safety. Also, far better weather data is available to skippers of 35 ft pleasure boats. More legislation is needed to make sure these ships have access to and are USING good up-to-date weather forecasts.

[@suzannetaylor5374]

@@LIamaLlama554 Won't happen if it costs money.Profit before lives.

[@lwing77]

Crew did not stand a chance, they tried to convince captain but he was too proud rip

[@Spyke-lz2hl]

Wow, what a story. I have trouble understanding why they continued, even the helmsman could see there was trouble ahead, but he can only suggest or ask, the Captain is the final word. On Wikipedia the final moments are absolutely harrowing.

[@terribarrett9381]

It is pounded into every sailor's head to obey the Captain's orders without question. It is absolutely heartbreaking to know this Captain did not listen to his crew and more importantly to his 2nd Mate.

[@woodnbikes]

I was friends with the second mate. She told me a few weeks before this happened all about his ego and the way he ran the ship. No one on board liked him very much most of the time, he could never admit he was wrong, ever. Except this time it cost them all their lives....

[@bigtuna4037]

I've sailed those ships and other old steam ships with only steam turbine generator s and an emergency diesel generator the size of a truck engine. No where near enough electrical power if steam plant gets into trouble. I imagine rolling stirred up crap in fuel tanks clogging strainers continuously.

[@herseem]

From another video about this, the key issue was that the list made it difficult for the engine to suck up oil for lubrication, and that seemed to have eventually caused the engine to fail.

[@warrenpuckett4203]

Having been in storm with 70-90 knot winds and 100-120 ft trough to peak seas, our captain changed course to the leeward side on the land mass. The ship I was on pulled into Seward and the carrier pulled into Anchorage. Those storms that come in out the Bering Sea are not called hurricanes or typhoons. But they do match them. Did not do much about the waves but did a lot about the wind. The aircraft carrier was taking water over the bow. That was enough to have the captain change course. Without permission. Keeping the mast perpendicular to the sea is critical. Those same storms generate the 90 footers on the north shore of Oahu. Also the 9 footers on the south side. Guess which side the US Navy was steaming on? 2hd one. Left port in Mumbai with a typhoon coming right at Mumbai.. 500 Miles out. Once out of port did did a 90 degree course change with 40 knot winds and 30 foot seas. The typhoon was on a South west course and we went north east. What I am surprised about was the course was not changed to the south along Florida at once along the ship put out to sea. Use leaward side of Cuba to get to less seas and wind and other islands. Approaching Puerto Rico from the south. The captain was probably more concerned about fuel and port arrival time.

[@hansvonmannschaft9062]

Excuse me sir, did I read you well? The CV was taking water... *_over the bow?_* Holy mother...

[@MtnMig]

That captain killed his crew. What a fool.

[@mostlynew]

Imagine the crew as the fate of the ship became obvious - and the abandon ship alarm sounded

[@flparrotz1]

Captain was wrong on ALL accounts and even waited too late to sound the alarm to abandon ship!! Those guys NEVER had a chance listening to him! Had they abandoned ship fifteen minutes before, some probably would have made it or i'd like to think all would have! I feel so bad for those guys that they didn't listen to their own instincts and say BS Captain, this is our lives at stake here; and to hell with the company and their Greed$$$.

[@DevinEMILE]

@@flparrotz1 wouldn’t have mattered most likely. A tiny boat in pissing distance of a cat 4 hurricane. They would have had a chance in the lifeboat but I wouldn’t want to imagine the hell that they would have gone through in it.

[@cherlylena6956]

@@DevinEMILE They would have had a choice regardless to save their own lives.

[@geoffreydevore9503]

RIP!! Brave souls who venture out into the sea!!

[@Cantor214]

If the captain had used only the SAT-C weather data I wonder if the disaster would have been avoided?

[@blizzardfan777]

Anthony Brown Most likely not.

[@nordlandia3034]

What's wrong with the captain. Full steam ahead against iceberg (hurricane) titanic...

[@dominiquestephenson1541]

Anthony Brown -Ego, arrogance and complacency is a deadly combination on the sea! I was US Navy, not merchant ships but sailors are all one family. At sea your life is in the hands of your Captain & Command staff. Pray you are fortunate to serve under a wise one. R.I.P. El Faro crew! They did not abandon their posts!

[@blizzardfan777]

Dominique Stephenson Amen Brother! Amen! I was USMM (USN turned me down because of my concussions from 10 years of hockey). I was fortunate enough to have Captains who respected all of their crews. The most dangerous incident I was ever placed in was a pirate attack off of Somalia in international waters (no, this incident was not with Maersk) following our resupplying of USN personnel in Djibouti. I’ve seen my fair share of cocky inept ensigns straight out of Kings Point who get straightened out by the unforgiving life at sea (especially for those who spent the bulk of their time learning about ships and navigation in a classroom rather than busting their butts to learn the ropes from experience). I had the time of my life because of the men and women I served with who placed safety first and foremost. My only complaint about the USMM comes from shrapnel in my knee that came from encountering combat without the means of appropriate self-defense, nor having any appreciation or protection from our own government (despite the Jones Act mandating them to do so). I’m highly appreciative for your service, and I’m also very honored that you see us all as one family. Thank you to all who have served and who are serving, and thank you to all who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their nation.

[@billn9910]

Read the book - the Captain was telling everybody he was the smartest one on the ship - but he was the dumbest.

[@dubious6718]

Why would you sail towards a storm? I only drive a truck and check the weather and if its raining, I wont drive (I do a lot of loading/unloading and its nicer to work when its not raining..)

[@MrLuckytrucker21]

Are their marine laws that allow a 2nd or 3rd mate to take command of a ship if he/she feels the captain is putting the ship/crew in danger!

[@Matt-mo8sl]

Mutiny............Ever seen the movie "The Cain Mutiny"?

[@elang3366]

Answer...yes...but risky if successful or not. It is called a mutiny...is still a mutiny for good cause. Im sure they regreted not taking the action when it became obvious... but at what point would the "conspiracy" to arrest the captain be supported by the majority. Perhaps only a dedicated minority would be needed. I'd rather be alive and have to face the maritime court of inquiry. 20 20 hind sight as the main deck goes under.

[@sarahdawn7075]

I wonder why crews of aircraft are encouraged to watch for signs of subtle incapacitation and to take action to intervene when necessary but when aboard ship it's mutiny? The Captain went to bed rather than monitor a dangerous and unpredictable situation. Did he realize that hurricanes are known to change course and worsen?

[@TakeDeadAim]

The gross negligence is appalling to me. As a longtime seafarer, I would have had the entire crew up all night fighting the flooding. As well...the nail in the coffin was moving ballast and then changing course without moving it back. Add the weight and sail effect of that wind lashing the stbd side and it was doomed from that point. Shoulda abandoned ship an hour before they did. Not even mentioning the fact that they were 12 hrs behind the weather...the REAL Genesis of this tragedy.

[@kurtb5512]

George Foy Book Run the storm is the best book explaining everything. I hope everyone will read this book

[@Mineminemine8]

Kurt Bruer I’m reading the book right now, and am shocked at the descriptions of the condition of the ship as well as the captain’s behavior. I’m so sorry for your loss, as well as the losses of the other families. I hope you keep speaking out!

[@fuzzypony]

Read "Captains of Thor" as well.

[@bradleykuss7623]

I bought the hardback version of this book and read this book because of a review in the U.S. Naval Institute's magazine Proceedings. The book is (c) 2018 , three years after the sinking. THe author includes information from the Voice Data Recorder, the Coast Guard and NTSB investigation results, and interviews with many of the crew's friends and relatives. It is a very good read. At the end of the book I was disgusted with the attitudes of the ship owners: Tote Services, the ship's captain, and even an officer of the U.S. Coast Guard, former Captain Jeffrey L. Dixon. He called off the close-up inspection of El Faro's sister ship by a group of Coast Guard Inspectors at the end of the first day of their inspection in Feb 2016. In April 2017 Captain Dixon voluntarily resigned from the Coast Guard (probably had to wait to qualify for his 20 year retirement) and two weeks later joined Tote Services Inc. as vice president for marine operations. Suspicious? I would say so! This is a book I will keep and reread at least twice over the next few years while researching the Jone Act and the state or the United States Merchant Marine ship capacity. But I know this already, some of the Defense budget needs to go to subsidising the construction of U.S Merchant Marine vessels or else there will be none very soon.

[@EricOngerth]

There was a mexican restaurant, El Faro, in my neighborhood until shortly after this. As far as I knew it was simply taken over by a new owner, who changed the name to match their other restaurants, El Rancho Grande. However, the timing of the name change turns out to fit very well with the sinking of a ship sharing the restaurant's old name.

[@clint1285]

Ft Worth?

[@ellisjackson3355]

Imagine if the crew just resorted to mutiny. Worse case scenario, they would've all lost their jobs. But they would still be alive and they could argue that they did it because the captain wanted to drive into a hurricane.

[@Lion718]

Given the accurate weather reports, they would have made the right decision to disobey orders.

[@jjosephm7539]

Old Bahama Channel would have been my choice. Especially with lashed down cargo on a old RoRo. Let the office complain, they always find something to complain about.

[@wtrdogg20]

32 lives lost, because a stubborn and and negligent captain!! This was very sad...

[@hankgs]

Incompetent Captain killed his crew and sunk a vessel due to an inflated sense of "self".

[@brianwideman2342]

Details can be the difference between life or death. Complacency kills!

[@duckslayer92]

I love watching these videos

[@seansteele1269]

duckslayer92 I don’t my brother died on that ship

[@duckslayer92]

Sean Steele, Sean my condolences I didn't mean it that way. It's like watching the show Air Disasters on Smithsonian channel. Obviously I don't enjoy the fact that it's a catastrophe and many people lost their lives. I do however find it very interesting seeing how they figure out what happened and the story of how things went South. Being from around the great lakes I also love the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the mystery surrounding it but not the fact of the lives lost. My brother is in the coast guard in Maine, so I do understand the importance and gravity of the situation. Once again my apologies you took it that way and I'm sorry for your loss. I hope you get what I'm trying to say...

[@dominiquestephenson1541]

Sean Steele -your brother is a hero! He did his job honorably....unlike his Captain. My condolences.

[@peterheide2019]

Great article in the latest Vanity Fair about the mess.

[@christophermadden9210]

I am just really surprised that in this day and age of satellite communications and all, ships are relying on weather information that is already several hours old by the time they receive it.. One would think everything would be real time or close to it. A surprise that large sea going vessels don't all posess some degree of weather monitoring equipment as well.

[@KB4QAA]

@Rich MF/HF radio had nothing to do with this loss. They could have obtained hourly updates if they had merely taken the action to do so. The ship had communications intact until less than minutes before sinking.

[@kathyyoung1774]

He ignored it.

[@bobbeckstead8340]

On average, two dozen merchant ships sink per year.

[@rayshelldaniels5899]

If I were in charge of driving or whatever the terminology is... I would have change course, damn that captain!....now my family member is gone because of the captains incompetence and laziness!

[@InchonDM]

It's driving on a motor boat, yeah. You don't sail a ship with engines, since it has no sails! My condolences on your loss, man. Hopefully you're all doing alright by now.

[@WarblesOnALot]

G'day, As the Wartime Posters used to ask... Was this Journey really neccessary ? It sounds like a delay of a day would've made a major difference to the outcome. Such is Life, Have a good one... ;-p Ciao !

[@10191927]

I can’t imagine sailing straight into a developing hurricane with a captain who was like “This is fine”.

[@scottdore5438]

Sad sad rip to the crew

[@ricksadler797]

Should have stayed in port at Jacksonville

[@jwarmstrong]

As a shipboard electrician I would disable the low oil switch so the engine could have started - damn the engine's bearings since seeing spongebob isn't my dream....

[@ronalddavis]

more complicated than that. it was a steam ship

[@scottl.1568]

Lawsuit time....

[@clarkgriswold6307]

"Coast Guard investigators placed nearly all of the blame on Michael Davidson, El Faro's captain. Davidson underestimated the strength of the storm and the ship's vulnerability in rough weather, and did not take enough measures to evade the storm, even though his crew raised concerns about its increasing strength and changing direction. Investigators stated that if Davidson had survived the storm, his actions would have been grounds for the Coast Guard to revoke his captain's license. " en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_El_Faro#U.S._Coast_Guard

[@Jessa-RM]

This captain believed a job he wanted was potentially on the line, he had interviewed for it and despite Tote allowing for course changes there's some who believe he was trying to make it on time because he was up for a job as captain on the first lng powered cargo ship, also owned by Tote. However, Tote had decided against him because he had allowed for personnel issues on El Faro, not disciplining people who were repeatedly found sleeping on duty. However, Tote hadnt told him this yet, perhaps if they had he wouldn't have taken these unnecessary risks. Im not sure, but I believe El Faro was being replaced on that route, so his job as captain of El Faro might have been on the line as well.

[@splagyetsi3287]

Companies love men like this Captain who will risk all for profit.

[@RubenKelevra]

Kinda crazy that the crew was unable to leave the ship safely in 10 minutes after beeing warned before. I feel like the emergency equipment wasn't up to the task for this kind of weather - so it's definitely a regulation/company issue as well.

[@svgranma7203]

The voice recorder shows the crew had no idea where their survival suit were. There were none in the bridge. 2nd mate left to find some just before they went down. One body was found in a survival suit, but the helicopter left it because they got a report of another survival suit with a person waving. They were unable to find them. They came back for the body, but it also was never seen again.

[@RubenKelevra]

@@svgranma7203 is it normal to sail into cat 4 tornados while going full retard on the safety equipment front? 🤔

[@Pugetwitch]

The lifeboats on one side of the boat were like 45 ft above the sea level and The ones on the other side were submersed underneath the water because of the list. if they would have tried to leave on the ones that were high above the ocean, they would have died because they would have tumbled into the sea.

[@mitchwood6609]

In the final minutes of the recording, Davidson pleads with a sailor to move. “We gotta move. You gotta get up. You gotta snap out of it and we gotta get out,” he says. “Okay,” the sailor answers. “Help me.” “You gotta get to safety,” Davidson shouts. “Help me,” the sailor cries. “Help me.” “Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Work your way up here,” the captain says. He refuses to leave. “I can’t. I’m a goner.” “It's time to come this way,” Davidson shouts. Then the recording stops.

[@ellisjackson3355]

The helmsman also said "you gonna leave me?" Sad.

[@dutchhoke6555]

The best course to avoid that hurricane was to the safest port away from the storm.

[@theredacted3805]

There is a great Disasters at Sea episode that also talks about it. I don't know how I'd feel about losing a daughter/son/brother/sister because one guy with a superiority complex doesn't utilize his crew in the right way. Do mariners learn Crew Resource Management? Because if not they need to, just because your the captain does NOT mean you are always right, and have the best available knowledge on a certain subject. You have a 2nd and 3rd officer for a reason listen to them.

[@willlyhickey]

I wonder when/if the Captain fully realized he had doomed 30+ people? Was it before they lost the engine? I mean, you have the 3rd mate saying they are going to run into a hurricane...Captain doesn’t listen. You then have the Second Mate say it AS conditions are getting way worse...and still this guy doesn’t do anything. Comes back on bridge at like 4am....is it when they lose the engine? Or does it start to creep in to his mind that they may not get out of this before then? The second mate wrote to her mom that they were heading straight into a hurricane. She knew there was about to be a very dangerous situation. Did the Captain I wonder? Follow up question: a ship like El Faro, if it doesn’t lose the engine by having the list...could it survive going into a Category 3 hurricane like that normally? I don’t know that is why I ask.

[@herseem]

From the situation that was developing, it seems to me this would have been justified circumstances for a mutiny in order to had in a safer direction. Can anyone here comment on the issues that would have been involved?

[@richardanthonygilbey]

Yeah no doubt the el faro took a gut thumping hit from the stern. Check out that bowed safety rail. Serious tonnage. Um im off to the khazi man.

[@paulnguyen8910]

Raise up the El Faro. But for how much? Stainless steel cables from barges will try lifting up, but when?

[@CoffeeTimeBrian11]

This loss of life was completely avoidable. Weather faxes come off the bouys and weather info every hour. You don't need to rely on just one form of data. Maybe these ships need meteorologist? Yes, the Captain should've turned round; instead, risking and losing all those lives; for what? Those poor families.

[@wraynephew6838]

why are there openings to the 2nd deck on the starboard side. Is that for ventilation?

[@DownNeptune]

Were there other ships on that approx route that made better decisions?

[@mr.tohsaka409]

DownNeptune if there were they probably died look up a vide of the Bermuda Triangle that’s where this boat went through

[@glennrishton5679]

No A foreign flag (not US flag) small ship did sink in the Windward Passage area, between Cuba and Haiti. All crew rescued by USCG. A tug and barge broke their tow wire on a north bound trip from SJ to JAX but think they were further to the east at the time not in the middle of the storm. I was on a tug towing a barge from JAX to SJ, left Jacksonville same day. We went down the Florida coast west of the Bahamas to the Old Bahama Channel had a pretty nice ride the whole way. Return trip passed through debris from the El Faro, a pretty sad time to see that.

[@zhyachts]

If both anchors were lowered would this create enough drag to keep the bow into the seas?

[@MelioraCogito]

Seems like the ship's master suffered from Dunning-Kruger syndrome... he was confidently incompetent. 33 people (including himself) lost their lives because of his failure of imagination. No doubt he thought everything he was doing, was to save the company money.

[@fw1421]

What a complacent skipper! Poor judgement cost them their lives.😡😡😡

[@woodnbikes]

Great job "captain" , A simple course change and you'd all be alive. You killed them all. You killed my friend... RIP Danielle Randolph ...You are severely missed 💔

[@felixcat9318]

I would recommend that anyone wanting more detailed information on this entirely foreseeable and preventable incident, read, Into The Raging Sea, Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm And The Sinking Of El Faro, written by Rachel Slade. Despite the bridge Crew knowing full well that they were on a collision course with the category 3 hurricane, not one of them fulfilled their duty of care to save the vessel and Crew by countermanding the reckkessly dangerous orders of their imbecile captain and taking a safer route, away from the hurricane, rather than directly into it! They betrayed the rest of the Crew by obediently steaming directly to what they knew to be their certain deaths! Thankfully, they can no longer endanger the lives of their trusting Crewmates...

[@anexpertateverything4816]

Open lifeboats meant they had no chance on their own

[@benwilson6145]

Bad weather, but nothing that should sink a well found vessel. There must more that went wrong. Was there an angle of lol? What flooded?

[@robbiemckinnon7901]

It's about 2034 km from Jacksonville to San Juan (as the crow flies), according to Google Maps measuring tool. To have swung West of the Bahamas right at the beginning of the trip, and passed closer to Cuba, south of the West Indes Islands, and then go North of the Dominican Republic to San Juan would have added only 200 km to the trip, or about 10% further. I know time is money in shipping, but when you're facing a freaking CAT 4 HURRICANE, its better to make your decisions on the safe side of things. I'm certain the captain could have justified alternate actions to the ship's owners based on the extreme weather, but he chose instead to maintain course, to keep to schedule and therefore the profitability of the voyage. I imagine he was under an intense amount of pressure from head office to make every trip count, and to keep the schedule at all costs. Sad state of affairs.

[@barbaradyson6951]

This may sound stupid, why the hell didnt they turn round. Strikes me the captain was useless.

[@glennrishton5679]

Good question Having worked in the industry now happily retired I'll give you my feelings. 1 Captains are under pressure from the office to make the fastest trip possible and burn the least amount of very expensive fuel. This was a regularly scheduled run so there was also a schedule to adhere to. Had he taken a safer route such as cut through the Bahamas going well south of the storm he would have burned more fuel and missed his arrival schedule. While that would have been prudent he would have been roasted by the office maybe fired, certainly a black mark on his record. True he would still be alive though. 2 Stubbornness, pride, ego. Not wanting to look like he couldnt handle bad weather. He has worked out of Alaska in very bad weather so felt that he could handle a hurricane. Wrong.

[@johncalvert2232]

I wonder if intense personal rivalry - to the point of animosity - between the captain and his 2nd-in-command played a part? (The first commenter "Haggar Great" has alluded to this.) Could it be that the rivalry/animosity was so great that whatever the 2nd-in-command suggested, the captain (suspecting the other of point-scoring for promotion) would have done the exact opposite?

[@CallsItLikeISeizeIts]

That's when you relieve him from command and take matters in your own hands! Only a lunatic or inept leader would intentionally steer you directly into a Cat 3

[@garden0fstone736]

What is this picture? The black hurricane is the actual hurricane but the blue and red ones are predictions? And they predicted it doing a complete u turn?

[@ihoneycxmbo7958]

if ever a mutiny was needed.....here it is.......

[@josephastier7421]

Can ship engines be built with oil sumps that are more tolerant of list? That doesn't sound like a hard problem to solve.

[@jamesng8554]

ntsb.capitolconnection.org/121217/ntsb_archive_flv.htm Forward video to about 40/41 mins in to see NTSB discussion of exactly that.

[@nightwaves3203]

0:04 40 year old steam powered. Not modern engineering.

[@fuzzypony]

@@nightwaves3203 Actually the plant was a good one. Totes never allowed the lube oil tank to be topped off. If the tank had been topped off, the list wouldn't have made a difference. it was so low that when the ship listed, the suction pulled air, not fluid

[@nightwaves3203]

@fuzzypony I wouldn't trust even a completely operational vessel in storm conditions. Low pressure makes the waves real big and getting near islands can have worse conditions. Sadly it's too easy to say wwhat would be the right thing to do after the accident. Steering clear seems the easiest preventive action.

[@fuzzypony]

@@nightwaves3203 Agreed, but sometimes you have no choice but face a storm-in which case you want a ship able to handle it. Part of that means your engineering plant is up to the challenge. In EL FARO's case, she didn't need to be anywhere near that hurricane, but plenty of pressures from head office and poor decision making by Davidson made that happen. All of the form a link in the chain that ended with EF foundering. That said, if you *are* taking vessel to sea, you should have a ship able to handle most storms, EL FARO was poorly maintained and that poor maintenance took out her last defence against the sea-her engineering plant. When it failed, she was done for. Corporate culture at Tote signed the death warrants for that crew in more ways than one. We should have learned those lessons permanently from the MARINE ELECTRIC disaster.

[@OneProudBBC]

Deadlier (by ratio), more avoidable and tragic of a sinking than the much shallower wreck up north that happened in 1912.

[@furyfalcon1933]

The cargo compartment was not safely secured causing extra problems also those big holes below the deck swallowed a lot of water I guess it was fate but safety regulations and new design model putting them in hurricane and test whether it can float might give some clue as how and hurricane safety book should be released as how act in emergency and checklist should be made for each day with int. standards might give a gist to the following gen. following them and to instruct the captain not to use subscription products without reading the note, precaution and t&c I believe.

[@Noisy_Cricket]

Imagine being so hardheaded that drive directly into a hurricane with today's technology.

[@TacticalOkuu]

Everyone's quick to jump the Captain for this, and sure that's an issue but a very common one. However when the ship itself is so old that not even the damn life boats are usable there's differently bigger issues than the captain's ego.

[@SuperDaleski1]

The NTSB is about the only government agency that's still proper and honest.

[@adidas20zero]

All the captains fault!!! 100 percent!!

[@RayVal53]

Go easy boys. R.I.P.

[@norml.hugh-mann]

I'm surprised the Capt didn't "accidently" fall in the sea and the crew take the vessel to safety

[@christopherkiely8707]

Very well done...

[@Lost-In-Blank]

Here is a link to the full final NTSB report: www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAR1701.pdf