MIAMI, Fla. (UPDATED Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m.) — The commander of U.S. Coast Guard 7th District in Miami, Fla., issued a statement Wednesday evening, confirming that the search for the crew of El Faro had been suspended. The Coast Guard also released the names of the crew, as furnished to them by TOTE Maritime, the cargo ship’s owner.

"I have come to a very difficult decision to suspend the search for the crew of the El Faro at sunset tonight. My deepest condolences go to the families, loved ones and friends of the El Faro crew," said Rear Adm. Scott Buschman, commander, Coast Guard 7th District. "U.S. Coast Guard, U.S Navy, U.S. Air Force and Tote Maritime tug crews searched day and night, sometimes in perilous conditions with the hope of finding survivors in this tragic loss"

Buschman said that since Oct. 1, after contact was lost at around 7:20 a.m. with El Faro, 183,000-square nautical miles of ocean had been searched off the Bahamian coast in a joint effort to locate survivors and signs of El Faro, which is believed to have sunk after running into Hurricane Joaquin.

One body in a survival suit was located in the water Oct. 4, along with a heavily damaged life boat with markings consistent with those on board the El Faro. Additional items located by searchers since Oct. 1 include a partially submerged life raft, a survival suit, life jackets, life rings, cargo containers, Styrofoam, packaged food and an oil sheen.

During Wednesday’s media briefing, a joint news conference with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard, NTSB Vice Chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr said what form of communication the ship’s captain used and what was relayed will be part of her agency’s investigation into the cause of the sinking.

NTSB investigators arrived in Jacksonville, Fla., on Oct. 6.  Dinh-Zarr said that the voice data recorder on El Faro is what investigators will be searching for in Bahamian waters at depths up to 15,000 feet. In the meantime, she said that investigators will collect records on the ship's construction, operation and maintenance, and probe the crew's training and experience.

"We want to see how decisions were made in this instance so that we can figure out what happened and, we hope, prevent it from happening again," she said. “The equipment used to locate a VDR is different than what the Coast Guard uses for search-and-rescue. And that is what we are discussing now.”

Dihn-Zarr said that unmanned underwater craft is one of the things that could be utilized to probe the depths of the Atlantic in a search for El Faro’s VDR.

During a press conference Wednesday on the campus of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, MMA President Dr. Bill Brennan said, “Unfortunately, we are now faced with news that none of us wanted to hear.”

The Coast Guard Wednesday evening released the names of the El Faro crew, which follow.

Delaware
Jeremie Riehm - Camden

Florida
Louis Champa - Palm Coast
Roosevelt Clark - Jacksonville
Brookie Davis - Jacksonville
Keith Griffin - Fort Myers
Frank Hamm - Jacksonville
Joe Hargrove - Orange Park
Carey Hatch - Jacksonville
Jack Jackson - Jacksonville
Jackie Jones, Jr. - Jacksonville
Lonnie Jordan - Jacksonville
Roan Lightfoot - Jacksonville Beach
James Porter - Jacksonville
Theodore Quammie - Jacksonville
Lashawn Rivera - Jacksonville
Howard Schoenly - Cape Coral
German Solar-Cortes - Orlando
Anthony Thomas - Jacksonville
Mariette Wright - St. Augustine

Georgia
Sylvester Crawford Jr. - Lawrenceville

Maine
Michael Davidson - Windham (Maine Maritime Academy graduate, Class of 1988)
Michael Holland - North Wilton (Maine Maritime Academy graduate, Class of 2012)
Dylan Meklin - Rockland (Maine Maritime Academy graduate, Class of 2015)
Danielle Randolph - Rockland (Maine Maritime Academy graduate, Class of 2005)

Massachusetts
Jeffrey Mathias - Kingston

New York
Mitchell Kuflik - Brooklyn (Maine Maritime Academy graduate, Class of 2011)

Tennessee
Steven Shultz - Roan Mountain

Virginia
Richard Pusatere - Virginia Beach

Poland
Piotr Krause
Marcin Nita
Jan Podgorski
Andrzej Truszkowski
Rafal Zdobych

The following statement was delivered by TOTE President & CEO Anthony Chiarello Wednesday afternoon:

"Since Thursday, every individual in the TOTE organization has held out hope that the crew of the El Faro would be found safe. It is with heavy hearts this afternoon that we learn the Coast Guard has suspended their search for survivors.

Our focus has been on supporting and caring for the family members, loved ones, and friends of those aboard the El Faro. The Coast Guard's announcement will not change the support that TOTE extends to those affected by this tragic event: though the search may be over, their grief, and ours, is not.

We appreciate there are many rumors and speculations surrounding this tragic event, as there are with any accident. For the sake of the families and loved ones, we ask that you continue to respect their privacy and wait for the investigation results.

We at TOTE can never truly know the pain the families and loved ones have gone through, but we do know how deeply this event has affected every employee of TOTE. A company is made up of people, and this tragedy has touched every individual across our organization.

We have no doubt that these are the darkest days of TOTE's years as an organization, and indeed, the darkest days in the memory of most seafarers. A legacy of this painful event must be an understanding that serves all who go to sea.

Out of respect for our seafarers, and for every seafarer here and around the world, it is critical that we understand what contributed to this accident. We are appreciative of the active participation into that effort by the NTSB. To every woman and man in the Merchant Marine, we promise our full and open participation into the investigation of this tragic accident.

We have met with family members, loved ones, and friends here in Jacksonville, and have communicated by phone with those unable to be here, making every effort to communicate everything we know as swiftly as we know it. As the NTSB's investigation begins, we will continue these efforts to the best of our abilities.

We wish to thank the USCG, and in fact the entire U.S. Government, who have worked tirelessly, placing assets at the disposal of the search and keeping the men and women of the El Faro in their thoughts and prayers.

Our industry is very small and very close, and the support and prayers for the crew and families from the maritime community mean a great deal to all of us. We would also like to thank all who have posted support on social media channels: your sentiments were appreciated, and your support was felt by all of us.

We appreciate the important role of the media: the politeness in your calls to our office and your respect of the families and loved ones, as we do our best to support those in pain.

We will continue to focus our attention on the families and loved ones."

The following statement was issued by Maine Maritime Academy President Dr. Bill Brennan Wednesday evening:

“Today, I sent an announcement to the Maine Maritime Academy Community to say that the news we have been anxiously waiting to hear about the crew of the El Faro will not come. Unfortunately, we are now faced with news that none of us wanted to hear.

The U.S. Coast Guard held a press conference at 3 p.m. to announce that at sunset today they will suspend their search for the missing crew members of El Faro. Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of all of the crew. Our thoughts have been with them and will continue to be with them.

Our community will grieve this together. Our students know that I am here to support them, as are the staff and faculty and the wider community of Castine. We will stand together and we will go on.

Those of us who sail on ships know that while the sea is to be respected, the sea is not to be feared. That is why we train, that is why we prepare; that is why we are here.

We have lost friends, colleagues, and alumni. We honor them best by continuing to commit to the excellence they bravely pursued. We honor them best by continuing to dedicate our diligence to that which was their passion. And we honor them best by steeling our individual and community resolve to educate and train for a world full of perils; not just for those at sea, but for those that find us wherever we may go in our lives. For this terrible tragedy reminds us that nothing in life is certain; that risk lurks at every turn; and that peril can and often does indiscriminately call upon each one of us.~ It is indeed at times like these that we must recognize the commonality of all risk, and draw upon each other to resurrect our strength, and therefrom emerge with an even greater courage and resolve.

The Alfond Student Center will be open for the rest of the day and evening for our students, faculty and staff to gather and support one another.

And now I have a special message for you, the media: the other day at our community gathering I thanked the media for the respect you have shown this community. I ask that you continue to respect us and recognize that we are all grieving. And I ask that you be especially respectful of my kids. These students – my students need the opportunity to understand this and to understand the grief that they feel and I ask that you respect their privacy while they grieve.”

Following TOTE Maritime’s release of the crew names, Brennan said it was learned that a fifth MMA graduate was among them. “I regret to share with the Maine Maritime Academy family that another friend, colleague and alumnus, Mitchell Kuflik, Class of 2011, was a member of the El Faro crew. The extended Academy community is grieving the loss of another mariner and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones...  The outpouring of fellowship and support of the entire maritime family is felt here in Castine.”

The Coast Guard said Wednesday that the following search-and-rescue units and crews assisted with the search:
• CG Air Station Clearwater, Fla, HC-130 Hercules airplane crews
• CG Air Station Clearwater, Fla., MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews
• CG Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., HC-130 Hercules airplane crews
• CG cutter Northland, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, Va.
• CG cutter Resolute, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter, homeported in St. Petersburg, Fla.
• CG cutter Charles Sexton, homeported in Key West, Fla.
• Air Force Rescue Coordination Center
• Air National Guard HC-130 airplane crews from the 106th Rescue Wing, Westhampton Beach, N.Y.
• Air Force WC-130 Super Hercules crews from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, 403rd Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.
• Navy P-8 Poseidon airplane crews from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla.
• Air Force E-8C Joint Stars crews from the 116th Air Control Wing, Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
• Three commercial tugboats

MIAMI, Fla. (UPDATED Oct. 7, 3:30 p.m.) — The U.S. Coast Guard announced at a press conference Wednesday afternoon that it would be suspending at sunset today the search for survivors of the El Faro cargo ship, believed to have sunk off the Bahamas last week in Hurricane Joaquin.

The last known position of El Faro was 36 miles northeast of Crooked Island, Bahamas. A crew of 33, including 28 U.S. citizens and 5 Polish nationals, was aboard the 790-foot vessel owned by TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico. It was en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, loaded with hundreds of containers of groceries and goods above deck and hundreds of trailers and cars below deck.

Of the crew, four are graduates of Maine Maritime Academy. According to the Portland Press Herald, the four included the ship's captain, Michael Davidson, 53, of Windham; second mate Danielle Randolph, 33, of Rockland; Dylan Meklin, 23, of Rockland; and Michael Holland, 25, of Wilton.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now in its first full day working to investigate the cause of the sinking of El Faro.

MIAMI, Fla. (UPDATED Oct. 5, 11:45 a.m.) — Following a press briefing at Coast Guard Air Station Miami this morning at 10 a.m., the public learned that the Coast Guard and TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico believe the cargo ship El Faro sank off the Bahamas when it was caught last week in Hurricane Joaquin.

The Coast Guard also said Monday morning that a body had been found inside a survival suit in the vicinity of the debris field of El Faro.

"Searchers have found life rafts and survival suits, including one survival suit with human remains," said Mark Fedor during the press conference. "The body inside the survival suit was unidentifiable."

Chief Petty Officer Bobby Nash, in the CG Miami office, told PenBayPilot.com that the reason Fedor described the body as "unidentifiable" is because the survival suit had nothing on it to indicate it was from El Faro.

"We know the life boat found was part of the El Faro because of its markings, but we cannot also attribute the human remains to the El Faro," said Nash following the press conference.

The 790-foot-long ship departed Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 29 en route to the island of Puerto Rico. It was carrying 391 deck containers and 294 trailers and cars below deck, with the cargo consisting of grocery items, cars and retail products, according to TOTE Maritime officials. The El Faro was one of two TOTE Maritime ships that departed Jacksonville last Tuesday, destined for Puerto Rico.

Two days later, on Oct. 1, TOTE Martime lost all radio contact with El Faro as of 7:20 a.m. The Coast Guard was immediately notified, and since then, nobody has heard from the ship that reportedly includes four crew from Maine, including two Rockland residents and Maine Maritime Academy graduates, Danielle Randolph and Dylan Meklin.

According to TOTE Maritime officials, at the time of El Faro's departure, the vessel's officers and crew were monitoring what was then-Tropical Storm Joaquin. The company said it authorized the sailing "knowing that the crew are more than equipped to handle situations such as changing weather."

El Faro had a crew of 33, including 28 U.S. Citizens and five Polish nationals. TOTE Maritime has been assisting the families and loved ones of the crew in traveling to Jacksonville, where in-person family meetings are being held. The company on Oct. 1 set up a 24-hour phone line and dedicated family website. The company has said it will not yet identify any of the crew, “out of respect for the families and loved one.”

As of Sunday, the Coast Guard had covered a search area of more than 70,000-square nautical miles. The Coast Guard also reported Sunday that various objects had been located in the vicinity of the ship's last known position - 35 nautical miles northeast of Crooked Island, Bahamas. A heavily damaged life boat with markings consistent with those on board the El Faro was located, as well as a partially submerged life raft, ife jackets, life rings, cargo containers and an oil sheen have been located by Coast Guard aircrews within a 225-square nautical mile search area. It has been reported that not all of the debris has been confirmed to be from El Faro. TOTE Maritime’s other ship, El Yunque, has since joined in the search for El Faro and its crew.

El Faro has one lifeboat on each side of the ship, and each is designed to be unsinkable even if full of water and all its crew, according to the TOTE Maritime website. The lifeboats can be launched without ships' power from their gravity davits, or crane-like devices.

The lifeboats on El Faro are open type, each certified to carry 43 people. One is propelled by manual power and the other by a small diesel engine. The lifeboats are constructed of fiberglass, with voids in the full filled with buoyant foam to provide positive stability, so they are unsinkable, and self-righting, so they cannot flip over.

El Faro also has five life rafts on board. Two are 25-man life rafts on each side, plus an additional six-man life raft on the bow. Life rafts are normally launched over the side, but are also designed to float free and self-deploy.

In a statement Sunday, TOTE Martime Puerto Rico President Tim Nolan said, "TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico and the Coast Guard remain focused on the continuing search for the crew. The contracted tugs as well as other vessels transiting the area are also keeping a lookout for any sign of the ship. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the 33 individuals."

In a statement Monday, the Coast Guard said multiple crews continue to search for survivors from El Faro, and assets involved in the search include:

• Two Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplanes from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla.
• Two Navy P-8 fixed wing airplanes.
• One Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla.
• Coast Guard cutter Northland, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, Va.
• Coast Guard cutter Resolute, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Coast Guard cutter Charles Sexton, a 154-foot fast response cutter homeported in Key West, Fla.
• Three commercial tugboats.

The Coast Guard is also reporting sea and weather conditions during Monday's search as 1-foot seas and 15 knots winds, with unrestricted visibility.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (UPDATED Oct. 3, 9:15 p.m.) — The U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday night that its crews had earlier today located a a life ring belonging to the missing container ship El Faro. The life ring was spotted approximately 75 miles northeast of the ship's last know position.

“A Coast Guard HC-130 search and rescue crew from Air Station Clearwater, Fla., spotted the life ring 120 nautical miles northeast of Crooked Island, Bahamas. A Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter crew recovered the life ring and confirmed it belonged to the missing ship, El Faro,” said Coast Guard officials in the release.

In a statement on its website, TOTE Maritime President Tim Nolan updated families gathered at the Seafarers International Union Hall in Jacksonville with this latest Coast Guard information.

Nolan provided families with the following:

“Earlier today, the Coast Guard confirmed that they located a life ring floating at sea which was identified as belonging to the EL Faro. A HC130 plane spotted the ring and a H60 helicopter confirmed it was able to retrieve the ring and the ring was stenciled with markings from the El Faro.

While this reflects that the ship was caught in rough seas and extreme weather, it is in no way indicative of the ship's fate. In fact, it helps confirm the El Faro's possible location and helps the USCG confirm the search areas. Small items such as life rings and life jackets are lost at sea frequently, particularly in rough weather.

The U.S. Coast Guard has been working tirelessly, allocating numerous air and surface assets to aid in the search. They will be announcing search plans for Sunday in due course."

Since learning that TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico had lost contact with its cargo ship around 7:20 a.m. on Oct. 1, search and rescue crews have searched more than 30,000 square-miles.

The Coast Guard reported that sea conditions in the search area Saturday were 20 to 40-feet with winds in excess of 100 knots, with visibility for search and rescue flying between 500 and 1,000 feet reported to be less than one nautical mile at times.

The Coast Guard has posted a video of the air search effort here: Pilot of C-130 speaks about El Faro search.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Posted Oct. 3, 11:30 a.m.) — TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico President Tim Nolan said in a press release Saturday that his company is working with the U.S. Coast Guard and all available resources this weekend to re-establish contact and locate the cargo ship El Faro and its crew of 33. The 33 people aboard El Faro have been identified by the ship's owner as 28 U.S. Citizens and five Polish nationals.

According to the Portland Press Herald, four of the crew are reportedly from Maine, including two graduates of Maine Maritime Academy that hail from the Midcoast. One of the crew was identified as Dylan Meklin, 23, of Rockland, and the other is Danielle Randolph, also of Rockland. Randolph’s identity was confirmed to PenBayPilot.com by a relative Friday evening.

TOTE Maritime has thus far withheld identities of the crew, other than to identify their nationalities.

“Out of respect for the families and loved ones, we are not releasing personally identifying information at this time,” said TOTE Maritime officials in the release.

El Faro was one of two TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico ships that departed Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 29 en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the time of their departure, the vessels' officers and crew were monitoring what was then-Tropical Storm Joaquin, according to Nolan.

As of Oct. 1 at 7:20 a.m., TOTE Maritime lost all communication with El Faro. The company said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard, while also attempting to re-establish contact with the ship.

In a press release, the U.S. Coast Guard said that at approximately 7:30 a.m. Thursday, watchstanders at its Atlantic Area command center in Portsmouth, Va., received an Inmarsat satellite notification stating El Faro had been "beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion [power] and had a 15-degree list. The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained."

On Friday watchstanders at the Coast Guard 7th District command center in Miami launched an HC-130 aircrew out of Clearwater, Fla., to search for El Faro and its crew. The Coast Guard reported Friday, and again on Saturday, that it had been unable to re-establish communication with the El Faro crew.

Coast Guard crews temporarily suspended their search Friday at sundown, but began searching against at first light Saturday morning. The area being searched is near Crooked Island, Bahamas.

On Friday, the Coast Guard reported covering more than 850-square nautical miles in its search efforts, but hurricane force winds and 20- to 30-foot swells hampered search efforts.

Saturday morning, the Coast Guard deployed three C130 aircraft, a USCG Helo helicopter, a Navy P-8 aircraft and the cutters Northland and Resolute. Also joining the search Saturday have been a Navy ship and three commercial tugs.

According to the Coast Guard, El Faro is a 790-foot roll in, roll off cargo ship. El Faro was built in 1974, travels at 22 knots and it 790-feet-long. It was carrying nearly 400 deck containers and 294 trailers below, with the cargo consisting of grocery items, cars and retail products "needed for daily life in Puerto Rico," said TOTE Maritime on its website.

“Our crew are trained to deal with unfolding weather situations and are best prepared and equipped to respond to emerging situations while at sea,” said TOTE Maritime officials, which has set up an incident website for families, the media and the public to access information.

Reach Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com and 207-706-6655.