October 9, 2015
By Edward McAllister and David Adams
...While the decision-making (click here) may appear inexplicable from a distance, Captain Michael Davidson was an experienced mariner and it is not clear what factors he would have been weighing as he sought to save his ship from calamity. El Faro stopped communicating after reporting early on Oct. 1 that it had lost propulsion, was taking on water and listing. No reason was given for the loss of power.
A spokesman for ship owner Tote Inc, Michael Hanson, declined comment, saying the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the sinking, had asked the company to refer all questions related to the investigation to them....
I think the storm came at him and not the other way around. The storm was oscillating a lot. It was mostly unpredictable as it would prove to be.
The captain may have mapped a course where the storm was expected to move away from as time went by. His course selection may have been safe, but, with the unexpected turn to the southwest and ever increasing velocity, it took the ship down.
Sympathies to the family, friends and the academy students. I do not believe the Captain was in error. He was facing something he had never bargained for. There were 13 dams defeated in South Carolina. The land has received catastrophic damage. The only storm I can recall in recent history to cause such devastation was Andrew and the tip of Florida. Even Katrina didn't disrupt the land like Joaquin did. Between Andrew and Joaquin, it would be Andrew that caused the worst damage, but, Joaquin caused severe widespread damage. The two storms are only separated by incremental differences.
I was the storm and not the Captain. I am fairly confident of that.
I think the storm came at him and not the other way around. The storm was oscillating a lot. It was mostly unpredictable as it would prove to be.
The captain may have mapped a course where the storm was expected to move away from as time went by. His course selection may have been safe, but, with the unexpected turn to the southwest and ever increasing velocity, it took the ship down.
Sympathies to the family, friends and the academy students. I do not believe the Captain was in error. He was facing something he had never bargained for. There were 13 dams defeated in South Carolina. The land has received catastrophic damage. The only storm I can recall in recent history to cause such devastation was Andrew and the tip of Florida. Even Katrina didn't disrupt the land like Joaquin did. Between Andrew and Joaquin, it would be Andrew that caused the worst damage, but, Joaquin caused severe widespread damage. The two storms are only separated by incremental differences.
I was the storm and not the Captain. I am fairly confident of that.
