SS El Faro

History
Name	El Faro
Owner	TOTE Maritime
Operator	SeaStar Line
Port of registry	United States
Route	Jacksonville, FL to San Juan, Puerto Rico
Ordered	1973
Builder	Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Laid down	1974
Launched	1974
Completed	1975
Identification	Callsign WFJK IMO number: 7395351 MMSI number: 368208000
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	commercial merchant cargo vessel
Type	combination lift on/lift off container and roll on/roll off vehicle carrier
Tonnage	31,515 GT
Displacement	14,971 tonnes deadweight (DWT)
Length	242 metres (794 ft)
Beam	29 metres (95 ft)
Propulsion	double reduction compound steam turbine
Speed	22kts
Crew	28 US citizen mariners & 5 Polish supernumeraries at time of disappearance

El Faro is a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship sailing under the flag of the United States. The ship sailed from Jacksonville, Florida to Puerto Rico on September 29, 2015 when then Tropical Storm Joaquin was several hundred miles to the east. As of October 4, 2015, the ship is the subject of a major search and rescue effort by the United States Coast Guard in waters immediately northeast of the Bahamas Islands.

Build History of EL FARO

The roll on/roll off merchant cargo vessel El Faro was constructed by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation in Chester, PA in 1975 as the Puerto Rico.

Trading history prior to incident

Originally operated by the Navieras de Puerto Rico Steamship Company, the Puerto Rico served the island for over two decades until the operators ceased sailings in 1995. After its service in the US East Coast to Puerto Rico trade, the vessel was purchased by TOTE Maritime in Tacoma, Washington. Its new owner renamed it Northern Lights and placed it in service between Tacoma and Anchorage, Alaska. Northern Lights continued to sail between these two ports until the early 2000s, when the ship was chartered to the Military Sealift Command of the United States Navy. Under MSC charter, it carried vehicles and equipment to US military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ship was later transferred by TOTE to its subsidiary company Sea Star Lines and renamed El Faro. It then returned to coastwise liner service between Jacksonville, Forida and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Disappearance of El Faro

On September 29th, 2015, El Faro sailed from Jacksonville for San Juan on a routine voyage. At the time of departing Jacksonville, Hurricane Joaquin was still only a tropical storm and the vessel took a track to the north of the Bahamas Chain. This track may have been intended to keep the ship in the safe semicircle of the circulation and pass to the south of the eye. By October 1st, however, the ship was steaming straight for the eye. At approximately 7:00 a.m. EDT, the master reportedly held a conversation over satellite communications with the management offices of the owners. The exact content of the conversation is not yet available to the public, but the United States Coast Guard has reported that the master reported some flooding which had been stopped, but which has left the vessel with a 15 degree list. The master also reported a loss of propulsion, but it is unknown what caused it, or whether propulsion was regained. After that conversation, it appears that the ship's Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) was activated, whose signal was received by the USCG in Portsmouth, VA. This signal prompted the USCG to contact the vessel owners, who informed them of the ship's reported condition. Subsequent attempts by the USCG to open communications with El Faro since October 1st have been unsuccessful.

On October 1st, NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft made attempts to locate El Faro without result. Beginning on Friday, October 2nd the USCG commenced a dedicated search for the ship with HC-130 aircraft which continued on Saturday October 3rd, with additional resources, including helicopters, cutters, and commercial tugboats. On that date, a life ring belonging to El Faro was recovered 70 miles northeast of the last known location of the ship. On the morning of Sunday, October 4th, the search was resumed.