Container ship El Faro believed to have sunk; Crews searching for survivors

DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — The United States Coast Guard gave an update on the missing container ship El Faro on Monday.

Coast Guard officials said they believe the ship has sunk.

Crews are no longer looking for the vessel, but focusing on finding survivors.

"Our focus is on survivors," said Capt. Mark Fedora, chief of response. "That’s our mission."

Sunday was the first day the Coast Guard had favorable conditions for a search. Crews were able to search 70,000 square nautical miles.

Search crews found a lifeboat that was marked El Faro and found no signs of life. Coast Guard aircrews also reportedly located a partially submerged life raft, life jackets, life rings, cargo containers and an oil sheen within a 225 square nautical mile search area.

Remains were found in a survival suit and it was unidentifiable, said the Coast Guard.

The vessel had 46 survival suits on board, however only a handful have been found, according to Coast Guard officials.

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The search crews on Monday are focusing their efforts on two spots, one is about 300 square nautical miles and the other is just north of that spot.

The Coast Guard said crews are focused on looking for objects that are associated with the ship, so they’ll be taking their air crafts closer to the water to look for objects.

"We're not going to discount somebody's will to survive," Fedor said.

The ship has 33 people on board, 28 Americans and five Polish nationals. Many have ties to the Jacksonville area.

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Officials said the ship was on the way to Puerto Rico from Jacksonville. The El Faro crew sent a distress signal Thursday morning saying the ship had taken on water and lost power.

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation later. The NTSB said they are waiting on the Coast Guard to declare a mass casualty before stepping in, but are monitoring the incident closely.

Rep. Corrine Brown released a statement that said in part, "... As a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I will be asking for a complete investigation into this tragic accident. I commend the Coast Guard for everything they do for our nation in the areas of maritime security and environment protection, and have worked closely with the agency for many years.

"In the coming days, I will continue to monitor the situation, and will be meeting with the family members of the crew later this afternoon."

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