r/lastimages • u/syzygiae • Aug 09 '25
NEWS The cargo ship SS El Faro on September 29, 2015, shortly before it departed Jacksonville, FL and sailed directly into the path of a category 4 hurricane. It would sink in the North Atlantic on the morning of October 1, killing all 33 crew members aboard.
This photo – from the USCG final report on the incident – was taken by the shipping company's terminal manager when he noticed a starboard list "greater than he had ever observed" during loading (the list was corrected before departure).
The sinking and loss of life was attributed mainly to the captain's decision not to significantly alter course to avoid Hurricane Joaquin despite having multiple opportunities both before and during the voyage to do so, compounded by the ship's state of disrepair and lack of adequate lifeboats (and probably improper cargo loading as well). Here is an excellent documentary about it by Brick Immortar on YouTube, if anyone is interested in learning more.
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u/sknikixel Aug 09 '25
I love this journalist and highly recommend this article if you want to learn about what led to the crew sailing into a hurricane: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/04/inside-el-faro-the-worst-us-maritime-disaster-in-decades
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u/Porkonaplane Aug 09 '25
Is anybody else amazed that it only takes 33 people to make something as big as this operate smoothly?
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u/flat907line Aug 09 '25
I'm an engineer on ships like this, and actually, in the same union the El Faro was a part of, and 33 is actually more than normal by today standards. There was a riding crew on there to just do repairs, but they still operated with a large crew. My ship is a tanker, and we have 17 people on board. The El Faro was an old steam ship, but modern diesel ships with the more advanced systems need fewer people.
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u/syzygiae Aug 09 '25
According to the NTSB report (really interesting document if you are like me and enjoy reading 300 pages of very technical writing) the minimum number of crew required was actually 25! So it could theoretically sail with even less. Definitely amazing
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u/ritzydutchess Aug 09 '25
They had an onboard maintenance crew at the time. They were doing some repair work that didn’t require the ship to be in drydock. It’s pretty common on large ships like this to have people working on it while it’s operating.
Unfortunately in this incident it just added more casualties. The work crew consisted of 5 Polish guys I believe.
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u/musicloverincal 29d ago
On the contrary, I was surprised there was so many people onbaord. Merchant ships carry skeleton crews most of the time.
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u/Fiveminutes26 Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
There is a nice memorial for some of the crew members under the Dames Pointe bridge
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u/Antelope-Subject Aug 09 '25
Can’t wait for the Gordon Lightfoot song about it.
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u/manyhippofarts Aug 09 '25
You're going around near the Chesapeake sound,
Where the channel to sea gets narrow.....
Shut down your plant and you almost just can't...
Hear the cries of the crew of the El Faro!
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u/emkultra19 Aug 09 '25
was down in the bahamas on the carnival pride (out of baltimore) at the same time, we actually passed this boat turning back early
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u/MidwinterBlue Aug 09 '25
This is an amazing book about the sinking: Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of El Faro, by Rachel Slade.
The ship had a sort of ‘cockpit voice recorder’ in the wheelhouse. It was recovered and the last minute is both horrifying and inspiring.
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u/obwegermax Aug 09 '25
Can you give a short summary of that last minute please?
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u/MidwinterBlue Aug 09 '25
A little more to add to what others have said. The precise transcript gives a little more info but not much. It’s here: https://www.dieselduck.info/library/09%20accidents/2016.12-ElFaro%20VDR%20Transcript.pdf
The able seaman (the helmsman) was an older guy in poor physical condition (obese mostly). At the end, as the ship listed to one side, the AB slid down and couldn’t climb back to the doorway where the captain was waiting with an extended hand, calling and encouraging the AB to ‘climb’ up.
In the final minutes, the captain vows to stay with the man. And the captain stayed with him right to the end, still cajoling and calling as the water filled the wheelhouse and the recording abruptly ends.
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u/syzygiae Aug 10 '25
Thank you for finding this! I remembered there was a precise transcript out there but it appears it’s no longer on the NTSB docket for some reason
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u/jenniehaniver Aug 10 '25
I feel respect for the captain on that point, but pretty much all his decisions since they left port doomed his entire crew. Even the Costa Concordia captain wasn’t that pigheaded.
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u/syzygiae Aug 09 '25
I haven't read the book but I am familiar with the VDR from the transcripts in the NTSB report – basically shortly before the ship sank they were trying to evacuate into lifeboats with their immersion suits, but the wind and waves from the hurricane were making it extremely hard. The last bit of conversation recorded was between the captain and the AB (able seaman):
At 0738, the AB yelled, “Goin’ down.” The captain said, “You’re not goin’ down. Come on.” The AB said he needed a ladder, then a line. The captain told him they did not have either.
At 0739:07, the AB said loudly, “I’m gone” or “I’m a goner.” The captain yelled, “No you’re not.”
Beginning at 0739:32, a low-frequency rumble was heard that continued until the end of the recording.
At 0739:38, the captain called the AB’s name, then yelled, “It’s time to come this way.”
At 0739:41.8, the audio recording ended.8
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u/Ok-Cartographer-2205 Aug 09 '25
Thanks! I read the most haunting article in Vanity Fair (the clock is ticking) and have been obsessed with this story ever since.
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u/MidwinterBlue Aug 10 '25
The book is just …wow. I’m with you. This is totally an obsession-worthy story.
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u/dsgdsg Aug 09 '25
I’ve read the NTSB report et al and seen several of the programs addressing the disaster. I’m left wondering why the rest of the deck officers did not mutiny and change course on their own after the final refusal by the captain to come to the bridge. By then it seemed to have become a life or death situation.
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u/syzygiae Aug 09 '25
It is hard not to wonder that, but I mean, mutiny is generally a pretty serious offense; of course we'll never know what was going through their heads but it could be that early on they were too afraid of the consequences (potentially losing their jobs/maybe getting blacklisted from the industry, though since this was a civilian vessel I can't find much about possible legal consequences – does anyone here know?) or they thought/were hoping the situation might improve or that the captain would come to his senses. By the time of the final refusal it might have been too late anyway. We'll never know. But I do think about that as well
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u/trucknorris84 Aug 10 '25
https://youtu.be/-BNDub3h2_I?si=QENrdZlJSBy7aByd
Great documentary covering it. Love every video he does. This was preventable even with the ship condition.
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u/sharipep Aug 10 '25
Also the transcript of this ships final moments are both haunting and infuriating 😩
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u/Hidalgo321 Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
Beyond the Breakers shipwreck podcast did their very first episode on the El Faro. Tragic indeed.
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u/John_Herbie_Hancock Aug 10 '25
I really enjoyed this extensive YouTube documentary on the event. https://youtu.be/-BNDub3h2_I?si=2Yl1m1vQ25ZUfpi2
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u/musicloverincal 29d ago
RIP to everyone onbaord. This was so unfortunate. Lots of people lost their life and they should have avoided the area. Secondly, it must have been a HELL of a wild experience to be in such a MASSIVE ship and be thrown around like a paper boat.
Was anyone alive held accountable?
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u/syzygiae 29d ago
To my knowledge no singular person faced significant consequences, since this was mostly the result of general corporate negligence and the actions of the captain, who obviously is no longer alive. The cargo company (TOTE Maritime) was hit with a ton of lawsuits from the families of the victims, and the Coast Guard also brought civil charges against them (the NTSB, the other investigating body, doesn't have authority to do anything but make recommendations). From what I can find all the lawsuits were settled. I believe the Coast Guard stated that the captain would have been prosecuted had he survived, but that is a moot point now. I have no idea if TOTE Maritime ever significantly changed their practices after this, though a similar ship of theirs was later scrapped because it was found to be in such horrible condition.
The NTSB also found part of the cause to be the USCG's practice of grandfathering in older vessels to allow them not to upgrade their lifeboats; again, the NTSB couldn't order them to stop doing this because it has no legal authority to do so, but it appears they complied and after this accident that was no longer allowed. I believe all(?) cargo ships operating on open water now have enclosed lifeboats, which could potentially have made a huge difference in this situation. So at least there is that.
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u/musicloverincal 29d ago
Went to Chat GPT to get some more information because many questions remained. The thought of losing 33 mariners just bothered me.
Besides what has already been mentioned here, below is a snippet of what I received after typing: Why did SS El Faro go down?
The sinking was the result of a combination of severe weather, mechanical issues, and human decision-making errors.
1. Sailing into the path of Hurricane Joaquin
- The captain, Michael Davidson, chose a route that took the ship too close to the hurricane’s center.
- Weather data he relied on (Bon Voyage System reports) was 6–12 hours out of date, so the storm’s position and intensity were underestimated.
2. Cargo ship design and vulnerability
- El Faro was a 40-year-old cargo ship designed for a different trade route. She had a low freeboard (distance from waterline to deck), meaning she was more vulnerable to flooding in rough seas.
- Her lifeboats were open-type, not enclosed, making them nearly useless in hurricane-force conditions.
3. Loss of propulsion
- As Joaquin’s winds and seas intensified, the ship developed a list (tilt) to one side from shifting cargo and water ingress.
- Seawater entered through open scuttles and possibly ventilation openings.
- Saltwater reached the engine room through a compromised scuttle, causing loss of propulsion around 7:39 a.m. Without power, the ship couldn’t steer into the waves or pump out water.
4. Inadequate damage control
- With no propulsion, the crew couldn’t turn the bow into the seas to reduce flooding.
- Flooding increased list and reduced stability until the ship capsized and sank.
5. Human and systemic factors
- Bridge Resource Management: Crew members questioned the route, but the captain dismissed concerns.
- Company oversight: TOTE Maritime’s shore-side team didn’t intervene despite storm warnings.
- Regulatory gaps: Coast Guard inspections didn’t fully address aging ship vulnerabilities.
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u/musicloverincal 29d ago
.The NTSB final report concluded the sinking was a result of:
- The captain’s decision to maintain course near the hurricane.
- Reliance on outdated weather information.
- Inadequate training in heavy weather and damage control.
- Lack of enclosed lifeboats and modern safety equipment.
- Loss of propulsion due to flooding in the engine room.
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u/Ok-Wave2761 29d ago
Damn. Question: did they NOT know the storm was coming or something? What would make them ride INTO a Cat 4 Hurricane? What was on that itinerary/cargo that was worth risking their lives for?
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u/syzygiae 29d ago
They did know the storm was coming. I had to oversimplify the situation a bit in order to meet the title character limit; when they left it was still a tropical storm, but was projected to become a hurricane. The captain was apparently expecting that it would miss them. They did alter course slightly, but by the time it became a category 4 hurricane (early on the day of the sinking) they were still heading pretty much straight for it.
The captain's insistence on continuing the trip probably had more to do with his own personal motivations than what they were carrying – he had applied for a promotion but it wasn't going well, and it was speculated that he may have thought completing this trip on time could make or break his chances. It also could have been that he was attempting to minimize the situation in his own mind in order to conform to the initial assessment he had made, so he wouldn't have to admit he had made a potentially fatal error.
This did make me curious about what was on the ship but I can't find anything more specific than "shipping containers" on that. Does anyone know?
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u/Ok-Wave2761 29d ago
Thanks for clarifying. I posted this before I came across the Vanity Fair article that I was about to read.
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u/Wendy_Price2023 29d ago
I remember seeing the news coverage of the el faro ship sinking on first coast news back in 2015 and 2016
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u/sharipep Aug 10 '25
Someone needs to do an in depth doc about this shit. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years!
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u/syzygiae Aug 10 '25
The doc I linked in the post (which a few others in the comments have also mentioned) is really excellent, I highly recommend it!
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u/ReneStrike Haohmaru 29d ago
I saw that post yesterday and was curious, so I watched a documentary about it. Thirty-five people died, and it was entirely because the captain, based on his overconfidence and past experiences, drew a similar conclusion between them and the hurricane. Of course, the fact that the RORO ship was very old and modified also played a part. They couldn't properly secure the cargo because there weren't enough lashing points. But the biggest reason was the captain's insistence. He couldn't grasp the seriousness of the situation until the last minute and didn't even make a general distress call until half an hour before the ship sank
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u/white_duke Aug 09 '25
How did it get to the North Atlantic from Florida in two days? Seems like that would take at least a week or more.
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u/syzygiae Aug 09 '25
The North Atlantic is the region of the Atlantic Ocean that is in the northern hemisphere. They were in the North Atlantic the whole time
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u/white_duke Aug 09 '25
Yeah. I'm always confusing the North Atlantic with the area around Greenland.
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u/craftylady1031 Aug 09 '25
Lived in Florida for almost seventy years, who the FUCK leaves the port of Jacksonville with a hurricane approaching?!