Debris Spotted As Crews Search For Ship Lost Off Bahamas
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A development in the search for a missing cargo ship, as rescuers spot floating debris and oil sheen off the Southeastern Bahamas.
The U.S. Coast Guard has been holding an intensive search this weekend for the El Faro.
The 790 foot vessel disappeared Thursday with 33 crew members on board when Hurricane Joaquin was battering The Bahamas.
"We have four aircraft up in the air searching. We've also got a ship, a Coast Guard cutter on the water and two more cutters on the way," said U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss.
The Coast Guard found a life guard ring Saturday, which they say they confirmed belonged to the El Faro.
Sunday's search at sea turned up other items but it's not known if those items are from the El Faro.
"We've also found multiple life jackets. We found a couple of shipping containers, as well as oil sheen in the water," said Doss. "Now those other items, we haven't been able to confirm that those are actually from El Faro but they are in that search area."
The Coast Guard is hoping with Hurricane Joaquin moving further away from the search area, more favorable conditions will aid in their efforts.
"Conditions today are really optimal for our search. Right now we've got one to two-foot seas, about 15-knot winds. So really calm seas, really mild winds out there. So compared to yesterday when our crews were experiencing 30 to 40-foot seas with about 100-knot winds," said Doss.