Posted on 10/05/2015 6:46:10 AM PDT by Biggirl
Sadly, the 40th anniversary of that major ship sinking is coming up next month.
And that is what could most likely has happened.
For sure, but isn't it the case that in the large wave heights one experiences in a hurricane, one can expect to lose steerage all the time as the prop spins out of water a good deal of the time?
Basing this question on my memories of The Caine Mutiny movie, which is the extent of my heavy-seas seafaring experience, thankfully.
;) argh.
On the “First Coast News” website the first comment posted on October 2 was the following:
David Benning
From GLP: “I’m a Deck Officer in the Merchant Marine. Been shipping out for 20 years now.
This freighter, The El Faro, was due to sink. I know guys working on there. The Captain was a psychotic prick. The ship was in such disrepair that the crew shoveled rust scale off the deck like it was freshly fallen snow.
The boat was always having problems. It was certainly not sea worthy. This same Captain has taken the ship into other storms. Namely a North Atlantic storm where they lost a cargo of new BMW’s coming from Europe.
But this incident is beyond comprehension. No ship master would ever steam directly with full intentions into the heart of a Catrgory 4 Hurricane. He left Jacksonville knowing damn well what the conditions were. He went straight for it. In my experience this appears to be some kind of suicide mission.
There were 33 guys onboard. The last contact they received from the ship was that they had lost power and were beset by the storm. We are talking 80 foot waves.
Some ships can handle that hove too if they can keep their engines running. But when you lose your power plant its game set match. Ships always turn broad to the see. The waves effect what’s called a synchronous roll going from deck edge to deck edge until the righting moment is lost and she sinks like a brick.
The crew had to have known they were going to die. There’s no way this ship is still floating. Not a chance in hell. Maybe they will pick up some survivors. But I doubt it.
Anyway, this whole thing stinks to me. “
El Faro
Ship name was notable absent from this thread
Wow. That’s quite a different perspective on the captain than I’ve read.
If what you posted is accurate, this tragedy is about to twist into an ugly time for everyone involved. Horrible for those who knew and loved these mariners.
The 2nd still image predicting the storm motion illustrates what transpired. The storm actually went WSW (non typical motion) and did not turn more northerly as models predicted. Also the storm achieved Cat 4 not Cat 1 strength.
This motion was a low probability move for the storm, but handily pinned the ship against the Bahama Islands to the west. The unanticipated explosive growth in strength, thus reach of damaging effects, was the most critical factor.
Sailboats are much saver then power boats in really bad weather. In a race call fastnet the fleet was over taken by a force 10 storm. Everyone that stayed with the boat lived. A lot the people that left the boat for a life boat died.
“The captain was a very well respected man, over two decades at sea, much of it in heavy weather.”
I’m calling bull with that. Was he a captain off Cape Hope or Tierra Del Fuego? Those are about the only places on earth that have majority ‘heavy weather’ seas.
He may have spent decades on the ocean but he clearly had very poor distress judgments. Loss of power, listing, top heavy cargo ship in a hurricane is Abandon ship conditions. In the least he could have ordered his crew off. The waters 85 degrees, no one would have died in a Class I life vest or at least they’d have found their bodies. The fact no one’s been found indicates it capsized, likely when it went sideways after loss of power. A quick roll, 1 ping from the EPIRB as it falls out of its housing and that’s it.
Dumb captain kills 33.
For the record the safest place to be in those conditions is topside bow with life vest on.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.