UPDATED: Coast Guard: Missing U.S. Cargo Ship Sank; Search Continues

By LINDA BOCK (Patch Staff)

Photo of a MH-60 refueling at sea during the search for the El Faro courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard

UPDATED: Coast Guard officials said Monday morning that a U.S. cargo ship carrying 33 people that has been missing since it encountered high winds and heavy seas from Hurricane Joaquin sank, but the search for the missing crew will continue.

The Coast Guard says it found the body of one crew member from a U.S.-based cargo ship that sank during a hurricane off the Bahamas.

Capt. Mark Fedor said Monday that an airborne crew spotted several survival suits floating amid debris from the El Faro. Most were empty but one had a body. A helicopter crew confirmed the person was dead but had to leave the body behind to continue the search for possible survivors, according to the Associated Press.

Massachusetts Native on Cargo Ship Lost in Hurricane

A graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy is one of the 33 people on El Faro, a school official confirmed today. Keith Griffin graduated from the academy in 2005, MMA school officials said this morning.

Griffin’s wife, Katie, is pregnant with twins, according to WCVB.com. She said she received an email from him Wednesday night, saying he didn’t expect to get a lot of sleep because it was stormy,

Four crew members aboard the cargo ship were from Maine.

Maine’s Second District Congressman, Bruce Poliquin, released the following statement on Monday in regard to the search for El Faro crew members:

“My thoughts and prayers are with the crew members of El Faro, their families, friends and local communities, especially in Wilton, Windham, and Rockland. “While it’s devastating to learn El Faro has sunk, we must continue to hold onto hope and pray that survivors will be located and reunited with their loved ones. In English, El Faro means ‘The Lighthouse’ and it is my hope that our lighthouses will help guide our Mainers, and the crew, home.”

Coast Guard search and rescue crews continued searching in the Caribbean Sea for the El Faro cargo ship Sunday, covering a total search area of more than 70,000 square nautical miles.

“The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained,” the Coast Guard wrote in a media release.

Various objects have been located in the vicinity of the ship’s last known position 35 nautical miles northeast of Crooked Islands, Bahamas. Life jackets, life rings, containers and an oil sheen were located by Coast Guard aircrews within a 225 square nautical mile search area, according to the Coast Guard. That debris has not been confirmed to be from the El Faro at this time.

Coast Guard assets involved in Sunday’s search included:

• Two HC-130 Hercules airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida
• Coast Guard Cutter Northland, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, Virginia
• An MH-60 Jayhawk from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida
• Coast Guard Cutter Resolute, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in St. Petersburg, Florida

Other agencies involved in the search include the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy.

HC130 aircrews headed back to the scene in search for the El Faro crew early Monday. More than 70,000 square miles searched thus far, according to the Coast Guard.

Aircrews and boat crews are not the only Coast Guardsmen to assist in the search for the missing container ship El Faro. Watchstanders have been working 24-7 gathering information regarding the missing ship.