What I will share with you today is what we have been able to glean from official sources. We cannot speculate on what has been shared in the media, including social media.
The El Faro, a 735-foot cargo ship with 33 crewmembers aboard, was en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Jacksonville, Florida. At approximately 7:30 a.m. Thursday, watchstanders at the Coast Guard command center in Portsmouth, Virginia, received a satellite notification stating the El Faro was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list. The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard command center in Miami launched an aircrew out of Clearwater, Florida, to search for the El Faro. Search conditions were severely affected by Hurricane Joaquin which limited visibility and hampered the search for several days.
El Faro is operated by Tote Maritime Puerto Rico. Tote has not yet released the names of the crew members other than to identify that the 33 member crew is composed of 28 Americans and 5 Polish nationals. Tote reached out to the families of the crew and is providing support services. As these families were contacted, we became aware that several members of the crew might be part of the MMA community and that several of our students had served on the crew of El Faro during cadet shipping.
Four Mainers have been identified in the media as possible members of the crew and all four are graduates of the Academy. Again, we cannot confirm that they are members of the crew but their names have been widely publicized in the media. These four Mainers continue to have ties to the Academy but we are concerned, as merchant mariners, about ALL members of the crew. They have been identified in the media as:
· Mike Davidson, Class of 1988
· Danielle Randolph, Class of 2005
· Mike Holland, Class of 2012
· Dylan Meklin, Class of 2015
We are reaching out to the students we believe to have family connections to the crew to offer support to the families. However, because we do not have the actual crew list, we may have not have reached out to all of the most affected and I apologize in advance if we have missed anyone.
As the search conditions improved, debris was found in the search area, some of which was identified as belonging to El Faro. The Coast Guard in a briefing this morning at 10:00 stated that, in addition to debris, a life boat with no signs of life had been found as well as a survival suit that contained an unidentifiable body. Both Tote Maritime and the Coast Guard issued statements this morning that they assume that the ship has sunk. However, the Coast Guard continues to mount a search and rescue effort to find survivors and that is their focus.
At this point, we cannot speculate on what happened to the ship or comment on many other details. I ask you, however, to reflect on Coast Guard Captain Fedor’s closing remarks this morning – he said “We're not going to discount somebody's will to survive. That is why we are still searching today."
Now I want to talk to you as members of our shared community. I have said to you often that this is a family; we are one community. We help each other and support one another. We are all Mariners and I know we are distressed by what we heard today, but we are also encouraged that the search and rescue effort continues.
When you began your time here at MMA, I joined you in a jump from our training ship. We did that for a number of reasons, including for comradery and esprit de corps. But, it was also done as part of your training for the careers at sea that many of you will pursue -- it is rigorous and demanding training to be sure and it has a purpose, as this incident poignantly reminds us. Our thoughts and prayers are with the crew of the El Faro and their families and loved ones – we are all shipmates.
The name of the ship, El Faro means The Lighthouse – I ask this MMA community, a family that stretches around the globe to ships at sea worldwide -- let us all become a beacon of hope for the safe return of her crew.
To provide support to our community while we await news, we have offered open counseling hours to students and student groups and I want to continue to emphasize that students should reach out to our counselor for support. The staff and faculty stand ready to support you should you wish to talk informally. We are also organizing a vigil of hope for 6:30 tomorrow evening in the yard between Leavitt Hall and the Student Center.
I would like to thank the media for their sensitivity and professionalism in understanding that this is a difficult time for our community, and I thank you for the respectful way in which you treated our students. At this point, I welcome questions from the MMA community, with the understanding that we may not be able to answer what is asked and I ask that the media hold their questions for our briefing following this meeting.
In closing, I am encouraged that the Search and Rescue effort continues and I remain hopeful. As additional information becomes available, I will update you.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - 11:14
Below is the statement presented by Maine Maritime Academy's President Brennan during the community informational meeting held this afternoon regarding El Faro.
Good afternoon. As you know, we have been anxiously awaiting news regarding the search and rescue effort to find the crew of El Faro. We are meeting today to provide information and resources and to answer questions as we are able.This meeting is for the MMA community. While members of the press are welcome to attend, we ask that the press hold any questions until a media briefing we will hold after this community meeting.
What I will share with you today is what we have been able to glean from official sources. We cannot speculate on what has been shared in the media, including social media.
The El Faro, a 735-foot cargo ship with 33 crewmembers aboard, was en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Jacksonville, Florida. At approximately 7:30 a.m. Thursday, watchstanders at the Coast Guard command center in Portsmouth, Virginia, received a satellite notification stating the El Faro was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list. The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard command center in Miami launched an aircrew out of Clearwater, Florida, to search for the El Faro. Search conditions were severely affected by Hurricane Joaquin which limited visibility and hampered the search for several days.
El Faro is operated by Tote Maritime Puerto Rico. Tote has not yet released the names of the crew members other than to identify that the 33 member crew is composed of 28 Americans and 5 Polish nationals. Tote reached out to the families of the crew and is providing support services. As these families were contacted, we became aware that several members of the crew might be part of the MMA community and that several of our students had served on the crew of El Faro during cadet shipping.
Four Mainers have been identified in the media as possible members of the crew and all four are graduates of the Academy. Again, we cannot confirm that they are members of the crew but their names have been widely publicized in the media. These four Mainers continue to have ties to the Academy but we are concerned, as merchant mariners, about ALL members of the crew. They have been identified in the media as:
· Mike Davidson, Class of 1988
· Danielle Randolph, Class of 2005
· Mike Holland, Class of 2012
· Dylan Meklin, Class of 2015
We are reaching out to the students we believe to have family connections to the crew to offer support to the families. However, because we do not have the actual crew list, we may have not have reached out to all of the most affected and I apologize in advance if we have missed anyone.
As the search conditions improved, debris was found in the search area, some of which was identified as belonging to El Faro. The Coast Guard in a briefing this morning at 10:00 stated that, in addition to debris, a life boat with no signs of life had been found as well as a survival suit that contained an unidentifiable body. Both Tote Maritime and the Coast Guard issued statements this morning that they assume that the ship has sunk. However, the Coast Guard continues to mount a search and rescue effort to find survivors and that is their focus.
At this point, we cannot speculate on what happened to the ship or comment on many other details. I ask you, however, to reflect on Coast Guard Captain Fedor’s closing remarks this morning – he said “We're not going to discount somebody's will to survive. That is why we are still searching today."
Now I want to talk to you as members of our shared community. I have said to you often that this is a family; we are one community. We help each other and support one another. We are all Mariners and I know we are distressed by what we heard today, but we are also encouraged that the search and rescue effort continues.
When you began your time here at MMA, I joined you in a jump from our training ship. We did that for a number of reasons, including for comradery and esprit de corps. But, it was also done as part of your training for the careers at sea that many of you will pursue -- it is rigorous and demanding training to be sure and it has a purpose, as this incident poignantly reminds us. Our thoughts and prayers are with the crew of the El Faro and their families and loved ones – we are all shipmates.
The name of the ship, El Faro means The Lighthouse – I ask this MMA community, a family that stretches around the globe to ships at sea worldwide -- let us all become a beacon of hope for the safe return of her crew.
To provide support to our community while we await news, we have offered open counseling hours to students and student groups and I want to continue to emphasize that students should reach out to our counselor for support. The staff and faculty stand ready to support you should you wish to talk informally. We are also organizing a vigil of hope for 6:30 tomorrow evening in the yard between Leavitt Hall and the Student Center.
I would like to thank the media for their sensitivity and professionalism in understanding that this is a difficult time for our community, and I thank you for the respectful way in which you treated our students. At this point, I welcome questions from the MMA community, with the understanding that we may not be able to answer what is asked and I ask that the media hold their questions for our briefing following this meeting.
In closing, I am encouraged that the Search and Rescue effort continues and I remain hopeful. As additional information becomes available, I will update you.
What I will share with you today is what we have been able to glean from official sources. We cannot speculate on what has been shared in the media, including social media.
The El Faro, a 735-foot cargo ship with 33 crewmembers aboard, was en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Jacksonville, Florida. At approximately 7:30 a.m. Thursday, watchstanders at the Coast Guard command center in Portsmouth, Virginia, received a satellite notification stating the El Faro was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list. The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard command center in Miami launched an aircrew out of Clearwater, Florida, to search for the El Faro. Search conditions were severely affected by Hurricane Joaquin which limited visibility and hampered the search for several days.
El Faro is operated by Tote Maritime Puerto Rico. Tote has not yet released the names of the crew members other than to identify that the 33 member crew is composed of 28 Americans and 5 Polish nationals. Tote reached out to the families of the crew and is providing support services. As these families were contacted, we became aware that several members of the crew might be part of the MMA community and that several of our students had served on the crew of El Faro during cadet shipping.
Four Mainers have been identified in the media as possible members of the crew and all four are graduates of the Academy. Again, we cannot confirm that they are members of the crew but their names have been widely publicized in the media. These four Mainers continue to have ties to the Academy but we are concerned, as merchant mariners, about ALL members of the crew. They have been identified in the media as:
· Mike Davidson, Class of 1988
· Danielle Randolph, Class of 2005
· Mike Holland, Class of 2012
· Dylan Meklin, Class of 2015
We are reaching out to the students we believe to have family connections to the crew to offer support to the families. However, because we do not have the actual crew list, we may have not have reached out to all of the most affected and I apologize in advance if we have missed anyone.
As the search conditions improved, debris was found in the search area, some of which was identified as belonging to El Faro. The Coast Guard in a briefing this morning at 10:00 stated that, in addition to debris, a life boat with no signs of life had been found as well as a survival suit that contained an unidentifiable body. Both Tote Maritime and the Coast Guard issued statements this morning that they assume that the ship has sunk. However, the Coast Guard continues to mount a search and rescue effort to find survivors and that is their focus.
At this point, we cannot speculate on what happened to the ship or comment on many other details. I ask you, however, to reflect on Coast Guard Captain Fedor’s closing remarks this morning – he said “We're not going to discount somebody's will to survive. That is why we are still searching today."
Now I want to talk to you as members of our shared community. I have said to you often that this is a family; we are one community. We help each other and support one another. We are all Mariners and I know we are distressed by what we heard today, but we are also encouraged that the search and rescue effort continues.
When you began your time here at MMA, I joined you in a jump from our training ship. We did that for a number of reasons, including for comradery and esprit de corps. But, it was also done as part of your training for the careers at sea that many of you will pursue -- it is rigorous and demanding training to be sure and it has a purpose, as this incident poignantly reminds us. Our thoughts and prayers are with the crew of the El Faro and their families and loved ones – we are all shipmates.
The name of the ship, El Faro means The Lighthouse – I ask this MMA community, a family that stretches around the globe to ships at sea worldwide -- let us all become a beacon of hope for the safe return of her crew.
To provide support to our community while we await news, we have offered open counseling hours to students and student groups and I want to continue to emphasize that students should reach out to our counselor for support. The staff and faculty stand ready to support you should you wish to talk informally. We are also organizing a vigil of hope for 6:30 tomorrow evening in the yard between Leavitt Hall and the Student Center.
I would like to thank the media for their sensitivity and professionalism in understanding that this is a difficult time for our community, and I thank you for the respectful way in which you treated our students. At this point, I welcome questions from the MMA community, with the understanding that we may not be able to answer what is asked and I ask that the media hold their questions for our briefing following this meeting.
In closing, I am encouraged that the Search and Rescue effort continues and I remain hopeful. As additional information becomes available, I will update you.