El Faro’s Missing Bridge Found

SS El Faro. Photo: Tote Maritime

Searchers have located the missing bridge of the ill-fated cargo ship El Faro, but the search continues for the vessel’s voyage data recorder, the National Transportation Safety Board announced via Twitter on Thursday.

A salvage team onboard the contracted U.S. Navy tug Apache has been using side-scan sonar in its search for missing bridge and VDR.

The wreck of the El Faro was initially discovered on October 31 off the Bahamas at a depth of 15,000 feet. In documenting the wreckage and debris field using a remotely operated vehicle however, the NTSB later determined that the navigation bridge and the deck below had been separated from the vessel and were still missing along with the VDR. 

The main part of the wreck was discovered in an upright position with the stern buried in approximately 30 feet of sediment.

The Voyage Date Recorder is considered key to the investigation because  it may hold clues about what happened in the final moments after the El Faro lost contact October 1 during Hurricane Joaquin.

Earlier this week, the search effort was put on hold for a day due to Tropical Storm Kate. 

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