USNS APACHE

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

El Faro found

The El Faro Wreck was found in 4500 m by MV Apache.German report: http://www.20min.ch/panorama/news/story/US-Marine-findet-Wrack-des-Frachters-El-Faro-26749016

El Faro ‘Pinger’ Search Turns Up Empty

El Faro ‘Pinger’ Search Turns Up Empty – UPDATE October 28, 2015 by Mike Schuler 567 SHARES FacebookTwitterDruckenE-Mail Photo: USNS Apache Photo: USNS Apache A U.S. Navy tug was unable to detect any ‘pings’ from the sunken El Faro cargo ship off the Bahamas and the search has shifted to using side-scan sonar, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said in an update Tuesday on its investigation into the ship’s sinking. As of Wednesday, the first of 13 side scan sonar search lines had been completed also returning negative results, the NTSB said. The second search line began Wednesday. The USNS Apache arrived at the last known position of the El Faro on October 23 and began searching for the vessel with a Towed Pinger Locator (TPL). The search area consists of a 10 nautical mile by 15 nautical mile area, in which the USNS Apache towed the TPL on 5 search lines across the search area in order to detect the acoustic signal associated with the El Faro’s ‘pinger’, the NTSB said. The USNS Apache concluded the first phase of the pinger locator search on October 26 with negative results, the NTSB said. The TPL’s ability to detect the El Faro’s pinger may be effected by the orientation of the vessel as it lays on the sea floor or the current condition and functionality of the El Faro’s pinger, according to the NTSB. The second phase of the search began on October 27 using the Orion side-scan sonar system. The second phase will be conducted over the same search area and consists of 13 search tracks, taking approximately 14 days to complete. The side scan sonar system will be used to locate the El Faro, and if found, create an image of the vessel. The U.S.-flagged El Faro with 33 crew members is believed to have sunk October 1 after the becoming beset by Hurricane Joaquin as it sailed from Jacksonville, Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico. All crew members are presumed to have perished in the incident. https://gcaptain.com/el-faro-pinger-search-turns-up-empty/#.VjHcSX7Ra9I

Navy tug underway to El Faro sinking site

The USNS "Apache" left Norfolk on ct 19. 2015, to begin searching for wreckage from the missing "El Faro". The ship was deployed to a search area northeast of Crooked Island in the Bahamas island chain, which was the last known location of the vessel. The initial search area was beomg 100 square miles, and water depth was estimated to be 15,000 feet across the expected search area. Transit to this search area was expected to take f4-5 days due to weather. The "Apache" is equipped with several pieces of underwater search equipment, including a voyage data recorder locator, side-scan sonar and an underwater remote operated vehicle. The Navy's mission will be to first locate the ship and, if possible, to retrieve the voyage data recorder.