US Navy Salvage and Diving division of the Naval Sea Systems Command, contracted to locate the sunken ship, began searching for wreckage of the missing US flagged merchant vessel El Faro yesterday, October 19.
US Navy’s Fleet Ocean Tug USNS Apache (T-ATF 172), in charge of search operations, deployed from Norfolk yesterday to a search area northeast of Crooked Island in the Bahamas island chain, 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 conditions.
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, if possible, to retrieve the voyage data recorder – commonly known as a black box.
USNS 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.
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Image: US Navy