Search Results for: NTSB

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El Faro wreck is missing bridge, VDR not found

The NTSB said yesterday that the Curve 21 remote operated vehicle (ROV) was used to identify the wreck found off the Bahamas at a depth of about 15,000 feet as that of the TOTE ship that went missing on October 1 during Hurricane Joaquin.

The NTSB has contracted with the U.S. Navy to locate the El Faro, document the wreckage and debris field and recover the voyage data recorder (VDR).

The Curve 21 ROV documented both the port and starboard sides of the vessel.

The vessel is oriented in an upright position with the stern buried in approximately 30 feet of sediment.

 The navigation bridge and the deck below have separated from the vessel and have not been located. The team has reviewed sonar scans of the nearby debris field and has not identified any targets that have a high probability of being the missing navigation bridge structure.
 
The voyage data recorder has not been located.
 
Future plans are to redeploy the Orion side scan sonar system to generate a map of the debris field to locate the navigation bridge structure.

Navy tug on way to seek El Faro wreckage and VDR

The tug is deploying to a search area northeast of Crooked Island in the Bahamas island chain, which is the last known location of the vessel.

The initial search area is 100 square miles, and water depth is estimated to be 15,000 feet across the expected search area. Transit to this search area is expected to take four-to-five days due to weather.

Apache is equipped with several pieces of underwater search equipment, including a voyage data recorder locator, side-scan sonar and an underwater remote operated vehicle.

The Navy’s mission will be to first locate the ship and then, if possible, to retrieve the voyage data recorder (VDR) – commonly known as a black box.

The U.S. Navy operates some of the world’s most advanced underwater search and salvage systems. Though this equipment is typically used to search for and recover downed military ships and aircraft, the Navy has a long history in assisting other federal agencies in underwater search and salvage operations, including the search and recovery of TWA 800 and the space shuttle Challenger. In 2013, the Navy assisted the government of Australia in its search for missing Malaysian Airliner MH 370.

USN Apache is a fleet ocean tug operated by the Military Sealift Command. The ship provides towing, diving and standby submarine rescue services for the Navy.

The ship is 226 feet long and has a crew of approximately 22 civilian mariners and uniformed Navy personnel.
The crew will be joined by a team from the Navy’s Supervisor of Diving and Salvage.

Also on board is the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge, Tom Roth-Roffy, and representatives from the USCG, TOTE and ABS, all parties to the NTSB investigation (see new story).

Towboat had hole in hull, so it sank

JULY 17, 2015  — The take away from this one: if your vessel has a hole in the hull, it’s not such a good idea to just keep going. The National Transportation

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Faulty space heater led to processing vessel fire

MARCH 2, 2015 — The National Transportation Security Board has issued a report on an incident in the early morning hours of Saturday, December 28, 2013, when the 138-foot-long fish processing vessel

Bridge hits ship

NOVEMBER 3, 2014 — Usually it’s the other way round. But the National Transportation Safety Board has issued a report on an accident in which a bridge hit a ship — and

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Captain’s recklessness blamed in ship sinking

FEBRUARY 11, 2014 — A captain’s “reckless decision to sail into the well-forecasted path of Hurricane Sandy” was the probable cause of the sinking of the 108-ft tall ship the Bounty off

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Carnival names four to technical review board

JULY 15, 2013 — Carnival Cruise Lines has appointed four maritime and transportation industry experts — Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby, Rear Admiral Joseph F. Campbell, Ray Valeika and Dr. John K.