Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of El Faro

by Rachel Slade

The container ship was just about ready to leave port, but she was running an hour late. She’d been delayed because she’d been incorrectly loaded—someone had accidentally transposed a few numbers in the ship’s loading software, causing the weight of the cargo to be unevenly distributed, which resulted in a noticeable list.

process NHC data before issuing a report, that error meant the weather forecast Davidson was looking at was based on raw data nearly eighteen hours old.

Fuel is a major drain on shipping profits. To power a medium-sized ship across the Atlantic demands as much as $40,000 a day. Every penny counts. Unable to cut salaries enough to please

By virtue of its relationship to the vessel owners, the ABS cannot be considered impartial.”

He’d seen a lot of questionable practices in the American merchant marine. Odom asked whether TOTE had developed contingency plans that would guide how shoreside personnel dealt with a vessel in specific emergency situations.