SS El Faro
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| History | |
|---|---|
 US
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| Name: | Puerto Rico (1975–1991) Northern Lights (1991–2006) El Faro (2006–2015) |
| Owner: | TOTE Maritime |
| Operator: | Sea Star Line |
| Port of registry: | San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S. |
| Route: | Jacksonville, Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Ordered: | 1973 |
| Builder: | Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. |
| Yard number: | 670 |
| Laid down: | April 11, 1974 |
| Launched: | November 1, 1974 |
| Completed: | January 16, 1975 |
| Identification: |
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| Fate: | Sank in Hurricane Joaquin on October 1, 2015 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Roll-on/roll-off cargo ship |
| Tonnage: | 31,515 GT 21,473 NT 14,971 DWT |
| Length: | 241 m (791 ft) (after lengthening) |
| Beam: | 28.6 m (94 ft) |
| Depth: | 12.8 m (42 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Single shaft, double reduction compound steam turbine (11,190 kW) |
| Speed: | 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) |
| Crew: | 33 personnel (28 Americans and 5 Poles) on final voyage |
El Faro was a United States-flagged, combination roll-on/roll-off and lift-on/lift-off cargo ship crewed by U.S. Merchant Mariners. Built in 1975 by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. as Puerto Rico, the vessel was renamed Northern Lights in 1991, and finally, El Faro in 2006. She was lost at sea with all hands on October 1, 2015, after losing propulsion near the eyewall of Hurricane Joaquin.
El Faro departed Jacksonville, Florida, bound for Puerto Rico on the early morning of September 30, 2015, when then-Tropical Storm Joaquin was several hundred miles to the east. The following morning, after Joaquin had become a Category 3 hurricane, the vessel likely encountered swells of 20 to 40 ft (6 to 12 m) and winds over 80 kn (150 km/h; 92 mph) as it sailed near the storm's eye. Around 7:30 a.m. on October 1, the ship had taken on water and was listing 15 degrees. The last report from the captain, however, indicated that the crew had contained the flooding. Shortly thereafter, El Faro ceased all communications with shore.
On October 2, the forty-year-old ship was declared missing, and an extensive search operation was launched by the United States Coast Guard, with help from the Air Force, Air National Guard, and Navy. They recovered debris, a damaged lifeboat, and an unidentifiable body. El Faro was declared sunk on October 5. The search was called off at sunset on October 7, by which time more than 183,000 sq nmi (630,000 km2; 242,000 sq mi) had been covered by aircraft and ships. The Navy sent the USNS Apache to conduct an underwater search for El Faro on October 19, 2015. The Apache identified a vessel on October 31 "consistent with [the El Faro] cargo ship...in an upright position and in one piece." The next day, November 1, 2015, the Navy announced a submersible had returned images that identified the wreck as the El Faro.
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Wikipedia