NAUTICAL LOG

Now that the VDR from the SS El Faro has been in the hands of the NTSB since early August 2016 one hopes that the results of the data recovered will soon be made public. The NTSB has stated that 26 hours of information is available.  That information includes Bridge audio, navigational data, onboard radar images and wind data.  The timeline begins at 0537 on September 30, 2015 some 8 hours after the vessel left Jacksonville, FL.  The ship was then about 150 nautical miles southeast of that city. On the morning of October 01, 2015 at 0613 the Master and crew members are heard discussing action regarding the flooding, the vessels list and the loss of propulsion.  The Master then notified the shore office about the critical situation and said he was going to send out a distress signal.  At about 0730 he sounded the abandon ship alarm.  The recording ends some 10 minutes later and the SS El Faro is now about 39 nautical miles northeast of Crooked Islan...

There was excellent news this week regarding the loss of the United States ship S.S. El Faro last year.  Finally after a certain unwillingness to locate and recover the vessel's Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) it was recovered from 15,000 feet on Monday and brought aboard the surface ship at 2230.  Rather than repeat the whole story here NAUTICAL LOG suggests you go to a full article published in gCaptain at www.gcaptain.com Hopefully there will data recorded that will assist in understanding the tragic decisions made by, presumably, the vessel's Master prior to the sinking with the loss of all hands.  See  previous Posts by NAUTICAL LOG. Good Watch.