Hurricane Joaquin News

Coast Guard Report Points to Captain Errors as Cause of El Faro Sinking

A Coast Guard report released Sunday says the primary cause of the 2015 sinking of the cargo ship El Faro, which killed all 33 aboard, was the captain underestimating the strength of a hurricane and overestimating the ship’s strength. The …

El Faro Widow Calls for Safer Shipping

Rochelle Hamm’s eyes fill with tears when she reads her terrified husband’s last words -muttered as the cargo freighter El Faro went down in hurricane, taking the lives of Frank Hamm and 32 others. “My feet are slipping! I’m goin’ …

Concern Turned to Panic for Doomed El Faro Ship Crew

Crew members aboard a doomed cargo ship expressed increasingly dire concern – occasionally tinged with gallows humor – as a hurricane gained strength, culminating in one crewman lamenting “I’m a goner” as they scrambled to abandon the listing ship, transcripts …

El Faro ‘Black Box’ Recovered

Search crews have retrieved the “black box” from the wreckage of the freighter El Faro that sank in 15,000-feet of water near the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin last year, officials said Tuesday. Using a remotely operated vehicle in the pitch …

More Hearings in El Faro Sinking

A second round of investigative hearings into the sinking of the freighter El Faro began Monday seeking new information about the vessel’s stability and whether there were mistakes in weather forecasting or cargo loading before the ship’s final voyage. The …

Coast Guard Testimony Reveals Uncertainty That El Faro was Sinking

When an initial report arrived saying the captain of the cargo ship El Faro had called ashore for help, the U.S. Coast Guard didn’t believe the vessel was at risk of sinking and later had software problems while preparing a …

El Faro Boiler Parts Were Severely Deteriorated

An inspection conducted on the boilers of a ship before it sank in a hurricane last fall found parts that had “deteriorated severely” or needed to be replaced, but company engineers believed it was still safe enough to set sail, …

Cargo Ship That Disappeared During Hurricane Joaquin Found

Investigators will use a deep ocean vehicle to help confirm whether wreckage that searchers found in 15,000 feet of water east of the Bahamas is the cargo ship El Faro that vanished during Hurricane Joaquin. The U.S. National Transportation Safety …

Time-Tested Weather Balloons Best Technology When it Comes to Storm Tracking Accuracy

When the latest computer forecast models couldn’t figure out where major Hurricane Joaquin was headed earlier this month, the National Weather Service ordered extra launches of one of its oldest tools – the weather balloon. Twice a day, in what …

Family Seeks $100M in Sunken Freighter Suit

The family of a sailor aboard the cargo ship that sunk in roiling seas whipped up by Hurricane Joaquin filed a $100 million lawsuit Wednesday against the vessel’s owner and captain. Willie Gary, a Jacksonville attorney representing the family of …