The El Faro’s captain, Michael Davidson, 53, of Windham, grew up on Casco Bay and knew from an early age that his career would be on the water. As a teenager, he worked as a deckhand with Casco Bay Lines.

He was an experienced captain who was said to approach the job with professionalism.

Other Mainers aboard the ship the day it sank last year were Michael Holland, 25, of Wilton, and Danielle Randolph, 34, and Dylan Meklin, 23, both of Rockland. All four were graduates of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, as was a fifth crew member, Mitchell Kuflik, of Brooklyn, New York.

Holland grew up in Jay and was described as tough, resourceful and smart. He had sailed on cargo ships before.

Randolph, the second mate, followed a career path similar to her father, a Marine. She had sailed the Jacksonville-to-San Juan route several times.

Meklin was described as a skilled and resourceful mariner who was third assistant engineer aboard the ship. He had recently graduated from Maine Maritime and the El Faro trip was his first on the job.

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Here is a list provided by the Coast Guard of the 33 crew members who died:

Louis Champa, Palm Coast, Florida

Roosevelt Clark, Jacksonville, Florida

Sylvester Crawford Jr., Lawrenceville, Georgia

Capt. Michael Davidson, Windham, Maine

Brookie Davis Jacksonville, Florida

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Keith Griffin, Fort Myers, Florida

Frank Hamm, Jacksonville, Florida

Joe Hargrove, Orange Park, Florida

Carey Hatch, Jacksonville, Florida

Michael Holland, North Wilton, Maine

Jack Jackson, Jacksonville, Florida

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Jackie Jones Jr., Jacksonville, Florida

Lonnie Jordan, Jacksonville, Florida

Piotr Krause, Poland

Mitchell Kuflik, Brooklyn, New York

Roan Lightfoot, Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

Jeffrey Mathias, Kingston, Mass.

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Dylan Meklin, Rockland, Maine

Marcin Nita, Poland

Jan Podgorski, Poland

James Porter, Jacksonville, Florida

Richard Pusatere, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Theodore Quammie, Jacksonville, Florida

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Danielle Randolph, Rockland, Maine

Jeremie Riehm, Camden, Delaware

Lashawn Rivera, Jacksonville, Florida

Howard Schoenly, Cape Coral, Florida

Steven Shultz, Roan Mountain, Tenn.

German Solar-Cortes, Orlando, Florida

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Anthony Thomas, Jacksonville, Florida

Andrzej Truszkowski, Poland

Mariette Wright, St. Augustine, Florida

Rafal Zdobych, Poland


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