I’ve got to ask, but when a steamship loses the plant what generally occurs? Fires go out in a boiler, but do they not have the ability to be relit? What prevents that from happening?
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The Weather Channel just said the El Faro is reported to be “in the vicinity” Crooked Island,“near the center” of Joaquin.
Much of the equipment that would have failed over the next 24 months in normal weather due to vibration / fatigue etc will fail in a much shorter time period, a matter of hours, during prolonged rolling, pounding etc. It’s also very difficult for the crew to move around with tools, parts etc to keep up with anything beyond the minimum.
HURRICANE JOAQUIN NEAR 23.5N 74.8W 939 MB AT 1500 UTC OCT 02
MOVING N OR 00 DEG AT 3 KT. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS 115 KT GUSTS
140 KT. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WITHIN 160 NM W
SEMICIRCLE…140 NM NE QUADRANT AND 180 NM SE QUADRANT. SEAS 12
FT OR GREATER WITHIN 480 NM NE QUADRANT…180 NM SE
QUADRANT…90 NM SW QUADRANT…AND 390 NM NW QUADRANT WITH SEAS
TO 45 FT. ELSEWHERE N OF 22N BETWEEN 65W AND 80W AND
OUTSIDE BAHAMAS WINDS 20 TO 33 KT. SEAS 8 TO 12 FT.
.24 HOUR FORECAST HURRICANE JOAQUIN NEAR 26.1N 73.0W. MAXIMUM
SUSTAINED WINDS 115 KT GUSTS 140 KT. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS
WITHIN 160 NM OF CENTER EXCEPT 180 NM SE QUADRANT. SEAS 12 FT OR
GREATER 480 NM NE QUADRANT…300 NM SE QUADRANT…120 NM SW
QUADRANT…AND 420 NM NW QUADRANT OF CENTER WITH SEAS TO 50 FT.
ELSEWHERE N OF 22N W OF 62W AND OUTSIDE BAHAMAS WINDS 20 TO 33
KT. SEAS 8 TO 12 FT.
The only issues I could speculate on are the usual things any of us think of first. Is there a fuel issue? Is the wx so bad the fuel is sloshing in the settler and the pump intermittently loses prime? Could the high winds be blowing high volumes of water into the space where the forced draft fans are located? If the fires went out it is easy to light back off if you have fuel, air and some spark. To many questions not enough info.
I’ve always heard if this situation happens, drop the hook and it will work like a sea anchor. Maybe not as good, but it will help keep you from going beam to. Anyone else hear of this? Hope they turn up ok!
A friend close to NOAA said the search plane has just dropped down to 200M to search. Hope they locate them soon
This is from First Coast News, - seems like they are doing more then just regurgitating other reports.
The site also tracks the ship’s last reported locations. The last report from El Faro puts the ship just west of the Bahamas.
The ship tracker provided by marinetraffic.com
The ship tracker provided by marinetraffic.com (Photo: marinetraffic.com/Google Maps)
Multiple search parties have been sent out by the Coast Guard, including two Air Force C-130 Hurricane Hunters, and are searching near the eye of the hurricane.The last message the Coast Guard received from the El Faro said that the ship was beset by Joaquin, lost propulsion and had taken on water, but had since contained the flooding.
The Coast Guard said in a press conference Friday afternoon that they were working to reestablish contact. The 140 mph wind could have knocked out their communication.
The waves out there are from 30 - 40 foot in height, and the ship is currently at the mercy of the waters.
All 33 crew members are members of the local chapter of the Seafarers International Union, the union confirmed to First Coast News. Twenty-eight are Americans, 5 are Polish nationals.
TOTE Maritime owns the ship, and announced in a press release that they have reached out to the families of those on board and said they’ve given them an open line of communication for updates on the situation.
The company also said they’re working closely with the Coast Guard to try and reestablish communication in whatever way possible. TOTE Maritime is not releasing the name of the crew members, stating that it could be dangerous for families and the crew members.
El Faro has 391 containers topside and 294 cars, trucks and trailers below deck. The Coast Guard said that cargo makes the listing problems even worse at sea.
The Coast Guard issued a release shortly after 11:00 a.m. The full text is reproduced below:
COAST GUARD SEARCHING FOR CONTAINER SHIP CAUGHT IN HURRICANE JOAQUIN
MIAMI - Coast Guard search and rescue crews are searching for a container ship with 33 crewmembers aboard reported to be caught in Hurricane Joaquin, near Crooked Island, Bahamas.
The El Faro, a 735-foot ro-ro cargo ship, was en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Jacksonville, Florida. At approximately 7:30 a.m. Thursday, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Atlantic Area command center in Portsmouth, Virginia, received an Inmarsat satellite notification stating the El Faro was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list. The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 7th District command center in Miami launched an HC-130 aircrew out of Clearwater, Florida, to search for the El Faro. At this time Coast Guard watchstanders and rescue crews have been unable to reestablish communications with the El Faro crew.
Two Air Force C-130 Hurricane Hunter aircrews attempted to locate and reestablish communications with the El Faro unsuccessfully Thursday. Coast Guard crews remain on scene and will continue search efforts Friday by both air and sea.
[Coast Guard]
[QUOTE=KrustySalt;169744]I’ve always heard if this situation happens, drop the hook and it will work like a sea anchor. Maybe not as good, but it will help keep you from going beam to. Anyone else hear of this? Hope they turn up ok![/QUOTE]
I would be interested to know this as well. Seems like it could help, but could lead to complications though?
[QUOTE=salt’n steel;169717]I just heard from a good source that Sea Star’s El Faro went straight thru hurricane and the EPIRB is activated.[/QUOTE]
I am hearing that too, but I can’t find a source. Do you have one?
Crowley sent a tug from Jacksonville to render assistance.
Wow. I hope they find her and all hands are safe.
I just saw a pic I took of El Faro while she was laid up here in Baltimore on a cable news show. They must have lifted it from the Marine Traffic site.
See this interesting animation of the progression of the prediction of the path of the storm. The statement from the company says they left Jacksonville on Tuesday, 9/29. At that time, based on the predicted path, it seems pretty reasonable to follow the route they chose, IMHO. Especially if they left Tuesday morning, and were actually looking at the “Monday” prediction of the path of the storm.
And I don’t see anything that would have led me to choose to go south of the Bahamas and into the Old Bahama Channel. Shallow water, tight channel, no good options down there.
Prayers with crew.
Dave
[QUOTE=dbperry;169755]See this interesting animation of the progression of the prediction of the path of the storm. The statement from the company says they left Jacksonville on Tuesday, 9/29. At that time, based on the predicted path, it seems pretty reasonable to follow the route they chose, IMHO. Especially if they left Tuesday morning, and were actually looking at the “Monday” prediction of the path of the storm.
And I don’t see anything that would have led me to choose to go south of the Bahamas and into the Old Bahama Channel. Shallow water, tight channel, no good options down there.
Prayers with crew.
Dave[/QUOTE]
Yes, you have to look at what they knew at the time. The forecasts I get don’t really show the degree of uncertainty. They may have had engine problems trying to get across. It’s tight down there, plenty of sea room till you have to share it with a hurricane. The [I]Fantome[/I] got caught with changing forecasts.
[QUOTE=Tugted;169753]Crowley sent a tug from Jacksonville to render assistance.[/QUOTE]
Need to find it first. A tug is not going to have much search radius in that weather. Maybe station south of Joaquin and jog north outside the worse of it so as to on hand when the [I]El Faro[/I] is located?
Wish I was with them, glad I’m not. Godspeed to them whatever they have planned.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;169757]Need to find it first. A tug is not going to have much search radius in that weather. Maybe station south of Joaquin and jog north outside the worse of it so as to on hand when the [I]El Faro[/I] is located?
Wish I was with them, glad I’m not. Godspeed to them whatever they have planned.[/QUOTE]
If I had to go to sea into a Cat 4 hurricane in anything other than a thousand foot long merchant ship, it would be on a Crowley Invader class boat.
I wish them all luck and a safe return.
My heart just sank seeing those open top life boats.
“If I had to go to sea into a Cat 4 hurricane in anything other than a thousand foot long merchant ship, it would be on a Crowley Invader class boat.
I wish them all luck and a safe return.”
I’ll second that.
“My heart just sank seeing those open top life boats.”
Amen.
We’re doing updates here: http://gcaptain.com/tote-maritime-us-cargo-ship-el-faro-missing-in-hurricane-joaquin/#.Vg7vERNVhHw
The Coast Guard says they are searching near the eye, I would think that they have a good last known position with the sat AIS and the LRIT which is updated every six hours.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;169763]The Coast Guard says they are searching near the eye, I would think that they have a good last known position with the sat AIS and the LRIT which is updated every six hours.[/QUOTE]
do we have confirmation that the LRIT is still being received? I have been wondering this for several hours now?