MIAMI — The missing cargo ship, El Faro, is believed to have sunk while sailing through Hurricane Joaquin, the Coast Guard confirmed Monday morning.
The U.S. Coast Guard lost contact with the ship en route to Puerto Rico from Jacksonville after it was caught in the path of Hurricane Joaquin. The ship's last known location was about 40 miles northeast of the Crooked Islands.
Thirty-three crew members are on board, many of them local to the Jacksonville area, according to executives for TOTE Maritime, the ship's owner. Of the crew, 28 are U.S. citizens and 5 are Polish nationals.
El Faro was supposed to arrive in San Juan by 5 p.m. Friday, according to marinetraffic.com. But the ship sent out a distress signal after the captain reported the ship was beset by Joaquin. The ship had reportedly lost power, taken on water and was listing at 15 degrees, according to the Coast Guard.
For four days, the Coast Guard attempted to reestablish contact with El Faro, saying that the extreme weather conditions where the ship went missing were hampering efforts. The ship sailed near the eye wall of the storm, where the 140 mph winds and 40-foot waves battered the ship.
The Coast Guard said multiple times that the 391 containers topside would exacerbate the listing problems of the El Faro. Multiple search crews with both the Coast Guard and TOTE Maritime tried to find the ship over through till Sunday when they announced they believed the ship to have sank.
Crews covered approximately 160,000 square nautical miles in their search for the ship and its sailors. The search area was roughly the same size as the state of Michigan.
On Saturday, the Coast Guard located a life ring that they said belonged to the El Faro. A spokesperson for the Coast Guard said that meant they were searching in the right area. The ring was found 75 miles northeast of the ship's last known location.
A heavily damaged life boat was markings consistent to the El Faro was found during the search.
TOTE Maritime announced in a press release that they have reached out to the families of those on board and said they've given them an open line of communication for updates on the situation.
Throughout the search for El Faro, TOTE provided families with resources and constant updates on the situation.
But TOTE's news briefings yielded few answers for family members.
"They don't know where the ship is, we just want to bring my husband and their dad home," said Rochelle Hamm, whose husband Frank is on board the El Faro.
Hamm questioned why the ship's route was through Joaquin, knowing the storm was incoming.
"Normally my husband tells me that they have a different route that they take go around the storm. I don't know why they didn't just steer the ship in a different direction. This is totally unacceptable," Hamm said.
TOTE executives said Friday that the ship's captain had specifically tailored that route to pass well in front of the storm.
The ship's captain has over 20 years of experience at sea, including 10 as a master and several with TOTE.
TOTE Maritime is not releasing the names of the crew members, stating that it would be disrespectful to the loved ones who were on board El Faro.
The mother of one crew member - Danielle Randolph - said that she's been getting an outpouring of support from her local community.
Laurie Bobilleot, Randolph's mother, said her daughter had emailed her just before the ship went missing.
"The last communication I had with her was in an email from the ship and it said, 'Not sure if you have been following the weather at all, but there is a hurricane out here and we are heading straight into it; category three, winds are super bad and seas are not great. Love to everyone.'"
"This child, since the age of five, has wanted to ship out," Bobilleot said of her daughter. "And she always said to me, 'If anything happens to me out at sea mom, it's okay. I died doing what I wanted to do.'"
The names of other crew members are slowly starting to emerge. First Coast News has confirmed that Michael Holland, Frank Ham, Dylan Melkin and Michael Davidson - the ship's captain - were also on board.
Deb Roberts, the mother of Michael Holland, is in Jacksonville with Danielle Randolph's family. Many families were gathered waiting for any news on the missing ship.
Now, the families wait for the Coast Guard to find survivors.
Authorities found two debris fields, and in one of them found a survival suit with unidentifiable remains in it.
When the crew abandoned ship, they were abandoning into a Category 4 storm, the Coast Guard said. So far, only one body has been found.
The company has created a website called 'El Faro Incident' that has helpful information on the timeline of events and the current search efforts to survivors. It can be found at this link.
This story continues to develop. Stay with First Coast News for updates.
The most recent update on the search for survivors from the Coast Guard can be read below:
MIAMI – Coast Guard search and rescue crews continue searching for possible survivors from the cargo ship El Faro Monday night, covering a total search area of more than 160,574 square nautical miles.
While searching in the vicinity of the ship's last known position 35 nautical miles northeast of Crooked Islands, Bahamas, the Coast Guard located a deceased person in a survival suit in the water.
A heavily damaged life boat with markings consistent with those on board the El Faro was also located. Additional items located by Coast Guard aircrews within a 225 square nautical mile search area include a partially submerged life raft, life jackets, life rings, cargo containers and an oil sheen.
Coast Guard assets involved in Monday's search include:
Two Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida
Two Navy P-8 fixed wing airplanes
One Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida
Coast Guard Cutter Northland, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, Virginia
Coast Guard Cutter Resolute, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in St. Petersburg, Florida
Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton, a 154-foot fast response cutter homeported in Key West, Florida.
Three commercial tugboats
Sea and weather conditions during Monday's search include one-foot seas and 15 knots winds with unrestricted visibility.
All three Coast Guard cutters will stay on scene and search through the night.
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