The huge El Faro ship sunk in Hurricane Joaquin. By now, all hope is lost of survivors.
We see photos of the young capable crew. Our hearts break for the family members, including Maine Maritime in Castine.
Why did this happen? Were there no weather forecasts? We in Maine respect and expect bad weather. Maybe this unusual storm was a fluke.
We know nothing about the vessel’s owner, TOTE Marine Services. From the time we are young we learn that “time is money,” but certainly a couple of extra days to get that cargo of 391 containers and 294 cars to Puerto Rico wouldn’t have cost so dearly.
The El Faro engine stopped, and it drifted into Joaquin’s path. What do our military craft have for back-up engines? Shouldn’t these also be on cargo ships?
Maybe insurance holders for ships like El Faro should have a contract clause: Insurance will not be paid if ship is in hurricane path. Our weather prediction abilities are superior today. According to these saddened armchair quarterbacks, this accident shouldn’t have happened.
Heidi Chadbourne
and Lawrence Merckens
Manchester
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.