Cargo Ship "El Faro" Missing in Hurricane Joaquin - 33 on board - Polidicks

[quote]U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue crews are searching for the lost TOTE Maritime [B]M/V El Faro[/B] container ship with 33 crew members on board, which has been reported to be caught in Hurricane Joaquin near Crooked Island, Bahamas.[/quote] [quote]...the El Faro was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, [B]had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list.[/B][/quote] Crazy stuff. It's a 735 foot container ship, and a 15 degree list may not sound like much at first, but it is quite a lot considering container ships have a relatively high center of gravity. The last communications with the ship established they had the list, lost propulsion, and had taken on some water. Source: [url]http://maritime-executive.com/article/tote-vessel-disappears[/url] [B][I]UPDATE:[/I][/B] Lots of information + updates on El Faro here: [url]http://gcaptain.com/tote-maritime-us-cargo-ship-el-faro-missing-in-hurricane-joaquin/#.VhCs_FWrSUk[/url] Photos of the search from the USCG on twitter: [url]https://twitter.com/USCGSoutheast/status/650018000452624388[/url] [I](You can see the sea conditions)[/I] [b]Another ship has been taken,[/b] however its crew was rescued: [url]http://washington.cbslocal.com/2015/10/02/u-s-coast-guard-rescues-12-from-sinking-cargo-ship/[/url] [quote]The United States Coast Guard has rescued 12 people who abandoned their 212-foot cargo ship that began taking on water north of Haiti. Coast Guard officials in Miami say the rescue took place Thursday evening as the area experienced heavy weather caused by Hurricane Joaquin. Officials say they received a message from the British coast guard about the Bolivian-flagged cargo ship [B]Minouche[/B]. The message stated that the ship was listing and crew members were preparing to abandon it.[/quote]

It was a 40 year old RoRo, USA flagged. [editline]2nd October 2015[/editline] [img]http://i.imgur.com/P835OKx.jpg[/img] With a 15 degree list and those low access points I could see water being able to get in. I suppose how they're using it would matter. Putting containers on a roro seems more like general cargo to me.

Wow that's a rust bucket if I ever saw one. Still pretty spooky.

[QUOTE=OvB;48814306]It was a 40 year old RoRo, USA flagged. [editline]2nd October 2015[/editline] [img]http://i.imgur.com/P835OKx.jpg[/img] With a 15 degree list and those low access points I could see water being able to get in. I suppose how they're using it would matter. Putting containers on a roro seems more like general cargo to me.[/QUOTE]

They lost propulsion? If they have just happened to lose antennas.. well, I hope they have quite a lot of food/fresh water stockpiled. They could be stranded a while.

so... what's a list.

[QUOTE=Tmaxx;48818276]so... what's a list.[/QUOTE] A list is when the ship is "leaning" to one side in reference to the center of gravity. 15 degrees won't seem like much, like mentioned above, but it is very dangerous if the ship is top heavy as it effectively allows the weight of the cargo to push the ship further over.

Kind of glad I didn't follow through on being a second class seaman. Dunno where my head was when I thought of that tbh. The story the pilot told me when I was a seaman on how they lost a man in a blink of an eye in one hell of a stormy day was the nail in the coffin for that idea. Imagine being stranded in the middle of nowhere though...

Is it possible that a ship like that could "go under"? If a massive storm brew how would the crew die?

[QUOTE=General;48818596]Is it possible that a ship like that could "go under"? If a massive storm brew how would the crew die?[/QUOTE] Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a lake so I think this old thing could sink in a hurricane. They think a door was open which allowed water to enter the hull on the Fitzgerald, it sank damn fast and in one piece. No one survived, so speculation was that they capsized until they found the ship years later on the bottom of the lake. On the bright side we got this song: [QUOTE][video=youtube;9vST6hVRj2A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A[/video][/QUOTE] I think they probably sank with a list like that.

[QUOTE=General;48818596]Is it possible that a ship like that could "go under"? If a massive storm brew how would the crew die?[/QUOTE] You can make anything sail by displacing enough water. You can also make anything sink by, well, allowing it to do the exact opposite. Sinking a ship is just a matter of making it do the latter. Generally in most accidents this takes place through taking on critical amounts of water, either due to a below waterline hull breach or an open hole in an area that water would have access to. For example, there have been a few car ferry accidents in the Netherlands and in the Baltic sea involving ships with their front loading gate either left open or broken open by relatively heavy seas, causing the forward motion of the vessel, combined with the high waves, to allow massive amounts of water to get into the hull. If the ship is listing, it can mean a lot of things, but the most common is one of these two: There is water inside the ship. Or there is loose cargo. Both are equally deadly if left unmanaged. Out of the two of those, loose cargo is more immediately dangerous in a storm because righting the ship would require either dumping cargo, or moving the loose cargo inside the vessel. They probably do not have the equipment to do the latter. Dumping the cargo in heavy seas is also not an option. Pumping the water out would be a simple task, provided that the pumps involved had a reliable source of power. But seeing as their propulsion is gone, that is also unlikely. There's a few ways a crew can die in this situation. If they manage to evacuate, which they have probably had time to do if they had time to send out a distress call, they will be out on survival rafts and life boats. These should be relatively easy to find, provided that the circumstances and weather are right. That is, if they did not decide to stay onboard the stricken vessel to attempt to right it. Most crews will fight for this, because in stormy weather, staying on the boat for as long as possible is their best option for survival. If they did not have time to evacuate appropriately and the vessel has gone under, they are most probably afloat in the ocean by themselves or in large groups of sailors clinging together. In that situation they have little more than each other.

[QUOTE=Deadman;48818770]You can make anything sail by displacing enough water. You can also make anything sink by, well, allowing it to do the exact opposite. Sinking a ship is just a matter of making it do the latter. Generally in most accidents this takes place through taking on critical amounts of water, either due to a below waterline hull breach or an open hole in an area that water would have access to. For example, there have been a few car ferry accidents in the Netherlands and in the Baltic sea involving ships with their front loading gate either left open or broken open by relatively heavy seas, causing the forward motion of the vessel, combined with the high waves, to allow massive amounts of water to get into the hull. If the ship is listing, it can mean a lot of things, but the most common is one of these two: There is water inside the ship. Or there is loose cargo. Both are equally deadly if left unmanaged. Out of the two of those, loose cargo is more immediately dangerous in a storm because righting the ship would require either dumping cargo, or moving the loose cargo inside the vessel. They probably do not have the equipment to do the latter. Dumping the cargo in heavy seas is also not an option. Pumping the water out would be a simple task, provided that the pumps involved had a reliable source of power. But seeing as their propulsion is gone, that is also unlikely. There's a few ways a crew can die in this situation. If they manage to evacuate, which they have probably had time to do if they had time to send out a distress call, they will be out on survival rafts and life boats. These should be relatively easy to find, provided that the circumstances and weather are right. That is, if they did not decide to stay onboard the stricken vessel to attempt to right it. Most crews will fight for this, because in stormy weather, staying on the boat for as long as possible is their best option for survival. If they did not have time to evacuate appropriately and the vessel has gone under, they are most probably afloat in the ocean by themselves or in large groups of sailors clinging together. In that situation they have little more than each other.[/QUOTE] Do you reckon they'd be able to cling to each-other with waves of that magnitude? Or would they have tied themselves?

Surely if they knew it was going under before hand they could of gotten to the lifeboat?

[QUOTE=Saxon;48819162]Surely if they knew it was going under before hand they could of gotten to the lifeboat?[/QUOTE] Exactly this. Abandoning the ship is the last option on the list, especially in a bad storm. According to the article, they also fought to contain the flooding. But in the event that they are in the water without survival rafts or lifeboats, they can do very little.

[QUOTE=BazzBerry;48818069]They lost propulsion? If they have just happened to lose antennas.. well, I hope they have quite a lot of food/fresh water stockpiled. They could be stranded a while.[/QUOTE] Is there an estimate as to when the hurricane will pass through the Bahamas?

[QUOTE=kweh;48818379]Kind of glad I didn't follow through on being a second class seaman. Dunno where my head was when I thought of that tbh. The story the pilot told me when I was a seaman on how they lost a man in a blink of an eye in one hell of a stormy day was the nail in the coffin for that idea. Imagine being stranded in the middle of nowhere though...[/QUOTE] This is the career I'm going into.. Wheeeeeeeeeee :v:

this has been over the news here. they found Lifebuoy from the ship. not looking so good.

[QUOTE=Deadman;48819178]Exactly this. Abandoning the ship is the last option on the list, especially in a bad storm. According to the article, they also fought to contain the flooding. But in the event that they are in the water without survival rafts or lifeboats, they can do very little.[/QUOTE] Aside from jump ship and hope for the best.

Lots of information + updates on El Faro here: [url]http://gcaptain.com/tote-maritime-us-cargo-ship-el-faro-missing-in-hurricane-joaquin/#.VhCs_FWrSUk[/url] Photos of the search from the USCG on twitter: [url]https://twitter.com/USCGSoutheast/status/650018000452624388[/url] [I](You can see the sea conditions)[/I] [b]Another ship has been taken,[/b] however its crew was rescued: [url]http://washington.cbslocal.com/2015/10/02/u-s-coast-guard-rescues-12-from-sinking-cargo-ship/[/url] [quote]The United States Coast Guard has rescued 12 people who abandoned their 212-foot cargo ship that began taking on water north of Haiti. Coast Guard officials in Miami say the rescue took place Thursday evening as the area experienced heavy weather caused by Hurricane Joaquin. Officials say they received a message from the British coast guard about the Bolivian-flagged cargo ship [B]Minouche[/B]. The message stated that the ship was listing and crew members were preparing to abandon it.[/quote]

[QUOTE]Life jackets, life rings, containers and an oil sheen have been located by Coast Guard aircrews, the Coast Guard said in an update Sunday morning. The objects have not been confirmed to be from the El Faro at this time, the Coast Guard added.[/QUOTE][url]https://gcaptain.com/multicple-objects-found-search-for-missing-cargo-ship-el-faro/#.VhF7Wcso7qA[/url] Oh dear.

[QUOTE=OvB;48827308][url]https://gcaptain.com/multicple-objects-found-search-for-missing-cargo-ship-el-faro/#.VhF7Wcso7qA[/url] Oh dear.[/QUOTE] Let's just hope for the best and hope these are things that fell off of the ship with the listing.

[QUOTE=BazzBerry;48827713]Let's just hope for the best and hope these are things that fell off of the ship with the listing.[/QUOTE] not likely, people are predicting the ship broke into two at this point

[QUOTE=EdvardSchnitz;48832341]not likely, people are predicting the ship broke into two at this point[/QUOTE] jesus christ

It is believed the El Faro has sunk according to The coast guard [url]http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/el-faro-cargo-ship-carrying-28-americans-believed-have-sunk-n438466[/url]

Damn, hopefully the crew is okay by some miracle.

Heard on the radio this morning that they found a survival suit with a dead body inside, along with a badly damaged life boat yeah here we go: [QUOTE]On Sunday afternoon, a Coast Guard search vessel had found a 225-square-mile "debris field" of wood, cargo and other items. Fedor said crews also discovered human remains in a survival suit during their search for the ship, but they were "unidentifiable." [/QUOTE]

Doesn't bode well.

Unidentifiable in what way?

[QUOTE=Zambies!;48833281]Unidentifiable in what way?[/QUOTE] salt water + storms have a nice way of chewing everything up

[QUOTE=dbk21894;48833361]salt water + storms have a nice way of chewing everything up[/QUOTE] Well and sharks. Can't forget about sharks.