A foreboding "red sky" and an ominous voicemail were two details released about the investigation into the sinking of the cargo ship El Faro. 33 people died on the ship which sank in the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015.
The National Transportation Safety Board held a news conference Tuesday morning. Following the news conference the agency released the transcript found on the Voyage Data Recorder found in the wreckage of El Faro.
With these transcripts the NTSB released hundreds of pages of documents, including interviews, factual reports and maintenance reports.
Here are a few of the things First Coast News found so far:
The transcription from the Voyage Data Recorder caught the captain and Chief Mate talking on September 30, 2015, just one day before El Faro went down. The captain says to his Chief Mate and Third Mate:
Oh, look at that red sky over there. Red in the morn' sailors take warning. That is bright.
According to recordings the captain chose to abandon ship, ringing the alarm to get the crew to leave the ship at around 7:29 a.m. on October 1, 2015. This is almost immediately following a call to a designated person ashore (DPA), the person who relays calls from ships at sea to the person in charge at the time, at around 7 a.m. The captain left a 35 second voicemail.
This is Captain ----, Thursday morning, 0700. We have a navigational incident. Um, I'll keep it short, a, uh, scuttle popped open on 2-deck and we are having some free communication of water go down on the 3 -- 3-hold. Have a pretty good list. I want to, uh, just touch -- contact you verbally here. Everybody's safe. Um, uh, but I want to talk to you.
At 7:24 a.m. the DPA called the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command in Norfolk, Virginia. At 7:38 a.m. the watchstander at Coast Guard Seventh District Command Center in Miami, which was acting as the regional rescue coordination center, called the DPA.
During this conversation the DPA tells the Miami watchstander that they could not get back in touch with El Faro.
At 7:40 a.m. during this call, the Miami watchstander is under the impression that El Faro is not at risk of sinking, though they understand that the ship is without its engines.
So generally for these types of situations where there's not, like, an emergency distress where we would need to go out there and remove people from the vessel or something like that. If they are just disabled, then generally it would be up to the company to provide some type of tug assist or something else like that.
On the ship, just one minute prior to that assessment by the watchstander, the transcription from the Voyage data recorder onboard El Faro paints a different picture. "I'm gone/ I'm a goner," a crewmember can be heard saying to the captain. The captain's response: "No you're not!"
No tug assist had been called by 7:41 a.m., according to the transcription of the phone call between the DPA and the Miami watchstander. By that point, the recording from the VDR shows that the crew had already begun to abandon ship.
Two alerts were sent out from the ship's security alert systems, which is typically only used when the ship is being attacked by pirates. The system alerts the vessel's company security officer without alerting robbers or pirates. They reached the Coast Guard at 7:15 a.m. and 7:17 a.m.
Another means of emergency communication used by the El Faro crew was an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB). This is an automatically-activated device, that ,once activated, transmits registration data about the ship, including the name, type of survival gear onboard and emergency points of contact onshore.
The message from El Faro's EPIRB was automatically processed at 7:39 a.m., the same time the recording indicated the crew began to abandon ship. According to the report, the EPIRB did not have a built-in GPS system, so the alert was deemed a "406 beacon unlocated first alert."
This was the last transmission from El Faro.
At 10:35 a.m., an Air Force C-130 was sent out to fly over El Faro's last known location. It also sent radio callouts, but did not see or hear back from El Faro.
At 11:06 a.m., it was requested that the closest vessel to El Faro, the Emerald Express was asked to go to El Faro's last known position to assist. Emerald Express's captain declined because he was concerned that the storm could put his ship in danger.
Transcript of the last ten minutes aboard El Faro
Second mate, yelling: Alright I got containers in the water!
Captain: Alright.
Captain: Alright, let’s go ahead and ring it – ring the Abandon Ship.
(The sounds of a high-frequency bell ringing in seven pulse tones.)
Captain, in a raised voice: Tell ‘em we’re goin’ in!
Second mate: Can I get my vest?
Captain: Yup. Bring mine up too and bring one for (Able Seaman 1).
Able Seaman 1: I need ‘em too.
Able Seaman 1, yelling: Please!
Captain: Okay, buddy, relax. Go ‘head, second mate.
Captain: Bow is down. Bow is down.
Unknown: I got lanterns.
Captain: I got nothing.
Captain: Do you think you can make it?
Unknown: Yeah.
Unknown: Sure, go ‘head.
Able Seaman 1: Gotta get my wallet and medicine and stuff.
Captain: Alright chief mate, chief mate.
Captain: Go ‘head (Able Seaman 1).
Unknown, yelling: Go ‘head, cap’n.
Captain, yelling: Yeah—yeah—yeah—get into your, get into your rafts! … Throw all your rafts into the water!
Unknown: Throw the rafts in the water. Roger.
Captain, yelling: Everybody — everybody get off! Get off the ship! Stay together!
Able Seaman 1: Cap. … Cap … Cap.
Captain: What?
Captain: Come on, (Able Seaman 1). Gotta move. We gotta move. You gotta get up. You gotta snap out of it — and we gotta get out.
Able Seaman 1: Okay.
Captain: Come up.
Able Seaman 1: Okay.
Able Seaman 1: Help me.
Captain: You gotta get to safety (Able Seaman 1). (Yelling) Ya gotta get to safety (Able Seaman 1)!
Unknown, yelling: Cap! Captain!
Captain: What?
Unknown: Ya alright?
Captain: Yep.
(Sound of power phone ringing)
(Loud, electronic pulsing alarm repeats twice per second.)
Unknown, yelling: Whooo!
Unknown, yelling: Yeah! Captain!
Unknown, yelling: Captain!
Able Seaman 1: What do you think?
Able Seaman 1, yelling: Help me!
Captain: (Able Seaman 1)?
Captain: Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Work your way up here.
Able Seaman 1, yelling: I can’t!
Captain: (Able Seaman 1.)
Able Seaman 1, yelling: Help me!
Captain: You’re okay. Come on.
Captain, yelling: Don’t freeze up, (Able Seaman 1)! Come on.
Unknown: Cap.
Unknown: Are you?
Captain, yelling: Where are the life preservers on here?
Captain, yelling: Hey! Don’t panic!
Captain, yelling: Where are the life preservers on the bridge?
Captain, yelling: Yeah, go ahead and grab one!
Unknown: (Unintelligible) me.
Able Seaman 1, yelling: I can’t!
Captain, loudly: Yes you can!
Able Seaman 1, yelling: My feet are slipping!
Able Seaman 1, yelling: Goin’ down!
Captain, loudly: You’re not goin’ down! Come on!
Able Seaman 1, yelling: I need a ladder!
Captain, loudly: We don’t have a ladder, (Able Seaman 1)!
Able Seaman 1, loudly: A line!
Captain, loudly: I don’t have a line, (Able Seaman 1)!
Able Seaman 1: You gunna leave me.
Captain, loudly: I’m not leavin’ you! Let’s go!
Able Seaman 1: (Screaming)
Able Seaman 1, yelling: I need someone to help me! (You gunna) help me?
Captain: I’m the only one here, (Able Seaman 1).
Able Seaman 1, yelling: I can’t! I can’t! I’m a goner!
Captain, yelling: No you’re not!
Able Seaman 1, yelling: Just help me!
Captain, loudly: (Able Seaman 1), let’s go!
Able Seaman 1: (yelling)
Able Seaman 1: (yelling)
Captain: (yelling)
Able Seaman 1: (yelling)
(A low frequency rumble)
Captain, yelling: (Able Seaman 1)!
Captain, yelling: It’s time to come this way!
