Coast Guard Suspends Cargo Ship Search

BALTIMORE (WJZ) – The U.S. Coast Guard is ending its search for the 33 missing crew members from the cargo ship that sank last week during Hurricane Joaquin.

It's been six days since anyone has heard from the crew of cargo ship El Faro.

Jessica Kartalija reports for WJZ.

The NTSB is working with the Navy, and they're trying to get equipment that will help in the recovery of the ship.

Family members who were staying positive are now faced with an unfortunate reality as search crews find more evidence of a maritime disaster.

The Coast Guard has been briefing families during conference times twice a day.

They said they're still continuing to search, but they've decided to suspend it Wednesday evening at sunset.

"Any decision to suspend a search is painful," said U.S. Coast Guard captain Mark Fedor. "In this case, we were searching for fellow professional mariners. We were also searching for members of the extended Coast Guard family."

Overnight, crews searching debris fields off the Bahamas found a survival suit and life jacket from the 790-foot ship.

NTSB Vice Chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr says the El Faro was equipped with a voyage data recorder (VDR) that could offer details about its final 12 hours. But the VDR are believed to be 15,000 feet below the surface, which is about half a mile deeper than the wreck of the Titanic.

"There are a lot of different kinds of robotics that are able to look that deep," said Dinh-Zarr. "There are different types of sonar that are able to detect things."

El Faro was in the path of Joaquin's 140 mph winds and 50-foot waves.

"We will look into the construction of the ship," Dinh-Zarr said. "That's part of our investigation -- to see whether and how the decision was made to sail."