Watch CBS News

NTSB Investigating Loss Of Cargo Ship

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

JACKSONVILLE (CBSMiami/AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a go-team to Jacksonville to investigate the loss of the cargo ship El Faro.

They plan to study the El Faro debris, conduct interviews, and look at documents to find out what went wrong and how to prevent such incidents in the future.

"It's just a tragic, tragic situation," NTSB Vice Chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr told reporters before departing Washington.

"We'll be looking at all factors on safety," she said. "We want to know what happened and why it happened. We will also be looking at the voyage data recorder."

CBS4's Peter D'Oench reported that the U.S. Coast Guard released three pictures on Tuesday showing debris from the vessel.

The ship, carrying cars and other products, had 28 crew members from the U.S. and five from Poland. It was on a run from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico when it ran into a problems.

Anxious family members are trying to remain optimistic, but some wondered why the ship sailed into such a potent storm.

"What we've all questioned from the very start is why the captain would take them through a hurricane of this magnitude, or any hurricane," said Barry Young, uncle of crew member Shaun Riviera.

"If they knew that the storm was coming, why still send them out? That makes no sense. That makes no sense for nobody," said Destiny Sparrow, daughter of crew member Frank Hamm.

Phil Greene, president and CEO of Tote Services Inc., said the captain had a plan to sail ahead of Hurricane Joaquin with room to spare.

"Regrettably he suffered a mechanical problem with his main propulsion system, which left him in the path of the storm," Greene said. "We do not know when his engine problems began to occur, nor the reasons for his engine problems."

The last message from the ship came Thursday, October 1st, when the captain reported the El Faro was listing slightly at 15 degrees in strong winds and heavy seas. Some water had entered through a hatch that popped open, but the captain told company officials the crew was pumping it out.

The Coast Guard was unable to fly into the ship's last known position until Sunday, because of the fierce hurricane winds.

Coast Guard and Navy planes, helicopters, cutters and tugboats searched across a 300-square-mile expanse of Atlantic Ocean near Crooked Island in the Bahamas, where the ship was last heard from.

A heavily damaged lifeboat from the El Faro was discovered, with no one aboard. Also spotted were one unidentified body in a survival suit, an oil sheen, cargo containers, a partly submerged life raft — the ship carried five rafts, each capable of holding 17 people — life jackets and life rings, authorities said.

On Monday, four days after the ship vanished, the Coast Guard concluded it sank near the Bahamas in about 15,000 feet of water.

Despite the odds, families of crew members like 32-year-old Shawn Rivera say they were well trained to survive.

Barry Young said, "If there was any life in him, he's fighting to continue to live. I believe that."

Among the 28 Americans are Captain Michael Davidson and crew members Danielle Randolph, Dylan Meklin, Jeremy Riehm, Steven Shultz and Frank Hamm.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.