El Faro Cargo Ship's Recorder Located but Not Yet Retrieved

The El Faro's voyage data recorder was found Tuesday and could reveal more information about how the large cargo ship sank in the middle of Hurricane Joaquin last October, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board told Reuters.

The El Faro sank Oct. 1 while sailing from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Juan, Puerto Rico. All 33 crew members died in the accident.

The recorder was found in about 15,000 feet of water off the Bahamas and searchers are working out a plan on how to retrieve it from the wreckage, the NTSB told Reuters. It was the second mission launched in hopes to find the recorder, which could hold information leading up the ship's sinking, officials said.

"Finding an object about the size of a basketball almost three miles under the surface of the sea is a remarkable achievement," NTSB chairman Christopher A. Hart said in a press release. "It would not have been possible without the information gained during the first survey of the wreckage and the equipment and support provided by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, the University of Rhode Island, and the many other partners involved in this effort."

The investigative team looking for the recorder used a remotely-operated search vessel to find it about 41 miles northeast of the Acklins and Crooked islands.

The search vessel, which is owned by the Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, will remain at the El Faro site through April 30 as it produces photograph and video documentation of the sunken ship.

The owners of the El Faro had said the ship's captain had a plan to avoid the then Category 4 hurricane but its propulsion failed, leaving the ship stranded in the wake of the strong storm, reported CNN.

Reuters said the U.S. Coast Guard plans to hold a second set of hearings into the accident from May 16 to May 27, targeting topics that include the ship operations, weather conditions, and regulatory oversight.

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