We've seen that story before.
Posted on 10/07/2015 8:55:00 PM PDT by rockinqsranch
"The U.S. Coast Guard said it called off its nearly weeklong search for the missing mariners of the El Faro at sunset Wednesday."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Prayers for all. A sad day. I doubt we will ever know the truth as to why the vessel went headlong into that storm. Dead men tell no tales, and in favor of the young lady 2nd officer nor do dead women.
I note in the article the emphasis is on the Captain as being at fault for this incident. He isn't in a position to fight for his good name. I remain a cynic.
What I have read was that the ship planned to skirt the storm to the east just as it’s sister ship was doing going the other way. The problem started when the ship lost power an drifted into the path of the hurricane.
The sea is cold and unforgiving.
The safest direction for a ship near a storm is directly into the wind and waves. The problem was not the ship’s direction, but that it lost power. Once a ship becomes adrift, the winds will turn it from perpendicular to parallel, and then the waves will beat it to death. I suspect she rolled over before she sank.
A Seaman’s Prayer
By Wayne E. Walters (submitted by Keith Walters)
God bless this frail ship of mine,
tho’ tiny it may be;
God bless its youthful skipper,
and those who sail with me;
Grant thy grace to all the stalwart lads
who bravely man its deck;
Come sail with us O Blessed One,
and each of us protect;
We’ll sail upon the northern breeze
to roam in search of glory;
It has been and always will be,
fate will set my life story;
So when you take this sailor, Lord,
forever from the sea;
I’ll sail my ship through Heaven’s gate,
for a sailor I’ll always be.
In the Bahamas???????????
Prayers for all. A sad day. I doubt we will ever know the truth as to why the vessel went headlong into that storm.
...
There is supposed to be a recorder like there is on aircraft. They need to find that.
Prayers for all those lost. I’m outa here. My friend Frank Zappa’s wife Gail has passed. Too much grieving at one time!
The problem started when the ship lost power an drifted into the path of the hurricane.
...
The ship was on a direct course for the center of the storm. Perhaps the bad weather had something to do with the loss of power.
My money is still on the company putting pressure on the captain to take the risk.
yes
May God Bless the Men lost and their grieving Families.
The Sea is and has always been unforgiving.
Pretty cold and unforgiving at 15,000 feet below sea level.
“My money is still on the company putting pressure on the captain to take the risk.”
I’ll toss some coin into that pot along with yours.
I spent many years in vessel operations, and talked to many a sea Captain while I worked. I learned from them many interesting perspectives.
One shipping company I worked their vessels was notorious for overloading, as well stowing the on-deck containers in an unsafe manner. The Administration of the shipping line had no qualms intimidating the vessel’s officers to sail.
We've seen that story before.
“My money is still on the company putting pressure on the captain to take the risk.”
Me too! In the ‘50s, while on freighters, I recall several approaches into New York harbor in fog so thick we couldn’t see the bow of the ship from the bridge, but we went “Full Ahead” because the company had several longshoremen under contract waiting for the ship to arrive and handle the cargo. The rules of the road stated you had to be able to come to a complete stop in one half the distance of your visibility. Radar wasn’t very reliable or used in those days, but the captain was under heavy pressure from the company to get the ship to the dock on time for the contracted longshoremen to handle the cargo.
Remember the collision of the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria? That happened in the same general area I mentioned above!
[“My money is still on the company putting pressure on the captain to take the risk.”]
Me, too.
[Remember the collision of the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria?]
It’s in my book, “Astonishing Tales of the Sea”.
There is. It’s just 3 miles down.
Loosing power in a storm is a bixxx. That ship also looked awfully topheavy with all those shipping containers stacked.
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