NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
James Franklin, Director of the National Hurricane Center, Miami
US COAST GUARD DC HEADQUARTERS
Rear Admiral Paul Thomas, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy
Captain Jason Neubauer, Head of USCG El Faro investigation
Commander Michael Odom, USCG Traveling Ship Inspector, former Rescue Swimmer
Commander Charlotte Pittman, Deputy Chief, USCG Office of Public Affairs, former helicopter pilot
Keith Fawcett, Marine Board Investigator
US COAST GUARD SEARCH AND RESCUE
Captain Rich Lorenzen, Commanding Officer, Air Station Clearwater
Commander Scott Phy, Operations Officer, Air Station Clearwater
Lieutenant Dave McCarthy, MH-60T Pilot, Aircraft Commander for Minouche rescue
Aviation Survival Technician 1st Class Ben Cournia, Rescue Swimmer during Minouche rescue
Lieutenant John “Rick” Post, MH-60T Pilot, Co-Pilot for Minouche rescue
Aviation Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Joshua Andrews, Flight Mechanic during Minouche rescue
Lieutenant Commander Jeff Hustace, HC-130 pilot, Aircraft commander for El Faro search
Captain Todd Coggeshall, Chief of Incident Management, 7th Coast Guard District, Miami
Operations Specialist 2nd Class Matthew Chancery, Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator, 7th Coast Guard District Command Center, Miami
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD
Tom Roth-Roffy, NTSB Chief Investigator
Eric Stolzenberg, NTSB Nautical Architecture Group
Doug Mansell, NTSB Technology Specialist
Mike Kucharski, NTSB Investigator
TOTE EXECUTIVES
Peter Keller, EVP, TOTE
Phil Greene, President, TOTE Services
Phil Morrell, VP Marine Operations, TOTE Maritime
Tim Nolan, President, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico
John Lawrence, Designated Person Ashore and Manager of Safety and Operations
Jim Fisker-Andersen, Port Engineer
Chain of Command Aboard El Faro
Ship illustration by Michael Chan
Six microphones installed in the ceiling of El Faro’s navigation bridge recorded twenty-six hours of conversation leading up to the sinking. This audio was captured on a microchip by an onboard Voyage Data Recorder—the ship’s black box. All the dialogue in this book aboard El Faro during her final voyage was taken from a transcription of this audio.
The satellite call came into the emergency center at 7:08 on the morning of October 1, 2015.
OPERATOR: Okay, sir.
CALLER: Are you connecting me through to a QI [Qualified Individual]?
OPERATOR: That’s what I’m getting ready now. We’re seeing who is on call and I’m going to get you right to them. Give me one second, sir. I’m going to put you on a quick hold. So one moment, please. Okay, sir. I just need your name please.
CALLER: Yes, ma’am. My name is Michael Davidson. Michael C. Davidson.
OPERATOR: Your rank?
CALLER: Ship’s master.
OPERATOR: Okay. Thank you. Ship’s name?
CALLER: El Faro.
OPERATOR: Spell that E-L . . .
CALLER: Oh man, The Clock is Ticking. Can I please speak to a QI? El Faro: Echo, Lima, Space, Foxtrot, Alpha, Romeo, Oscar. El Faro.
OPERATOR: Okay, and in case I lose you, what is your phone number please?
CALLER: Phone number 870-773-206528.
OPERATOR: Got it. Again, I’m going to get you reached right now. One moment please.
CALLER: [Aside.] And Mate, what else to do you see down there? What else do you see?
OPERATOR: I’m going to connect you now okay.
OPERATOR 2: Hi, good morning. My name is Sherida. Just give me one moment. I’m going to try to connect you now. Okay, Mr. Davidson?
CALLER: Okay.
OPERATOR 2: Okay, one moment please. Thank you for waiting.
CALLER: Oh God.
OPERATOR 2: Just briefly what is your problem you’re having?
CALLER: I have a marine emergency and I would like to speak to a QI. We had a hull breach, a scuttle blew open during a storm. We have water down in three-hold with a heavy list. We’ve lost the main propulsion unit, the engineers cannot get it going. Can I speak to a QI please?
OPERATOR 2: Yes, thank you so much, one moment.
Thirty-three minutes later, the American government’s network of hydrophones in the Atlantic Ocean picked up an enormous thud just beyond Crooked Island in the Bahamas. It was a sound rarely heard out there in the deepest part of the sea where, for decades, the government had been recording an endless underwater symphony. Three miles down, they listened to the lonely cries of humpback whales, the eerie hum of earthquakes, and the whirr of submarine
