The Sinking of El Faro, End Note

In the aftermath of the El Faro sinking, finger-pointing, and scrambling for cover was a preoccupation of the shipping company and any other entity or person associated with the disaster. Inevitably, much of blame was put on the captain, but he was not the only cause of the sinking. El Faro was an old ship with many problems. Former crew that served on El Faro described it as a “rust bucket.”

The El Faro story is a reminder that just because a person may have made a bad decision, it does not mean he is a bad person. The captain’s “abandon ship” order was given with enough time to allow 31 of the 33 crew to get off the ship using life rafts and survival suits (although none survived or were ever found). 

As the ship was sinking, remaining on the bridge were the captain and a single crew member. The ship rolled on to its side and the bridge was flipped sideways. The last crewman was trapped behind equipment at the “bottom” of the now-sideways bridge. On the “top” of the bridge was the captain.