Cargo ship carrying 33 likely sank, Coast Guard says

El Faro, the American cargo ship that went missing at sea in the path of Hurricane Joaquin, most likely has sunk, the Coast Guard said at a news conference Monday.

“For our search planning efffffffffffforts, we are assuming that the vessel has sunk,” U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Mark Fedor said. “We are searching for any signs of life for that vessel.”

The 790-foot container ship and the 33 people on board have been missing for four days, and the Coast Guard has scoured more than 70,000 square nautical miles for the vessel.sel

Search crews spotted life rings, debris and an oil slick near El Faro’s last known location — but for days, there were no signs of the ship or survivors.

Fedor said Monday that human remains were found in at least one survival suit. A helicopter crew, he said, had to leave the body behind to search for possible survivors.

An empty lifeboat also was found by search teams. The lifeboat — one of two carried by El Faro — was severely damaged, according to the Coast Guard.

Tim Nolan, president of the ship’s owner, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, said in a statement Monday that the company “is distressed that it now appears the El Faro sank at or near its last known position.”

“We continue to hold out hope for survivors,” Nolan said.

Of the 33-member crew, 28 of them are American and the remaining fifive are Polish.

“We’ve been going with no sleep for four days,” Laurie Bobillot, whose daughter Danielle Randolph was aboard the ship, said Sunday night from Jacksonville, Florida, where she and other family members of the crew gathered.

The Coast Guard’s search for the vessel began Friday during unfa- vorable, hurricane-like conditions, Fedor said. It wasn’t until Sunday that Coast Guard vessels and airc raft were able to search without high winds and with good visibility.

The El Faro went missing in 15,000-foot water while a powerful Category 4 storm was “sitting right over it,” Fedor said.

The ship was equipped with life suits and two lifeboats. Several suits have been spotted in the water, and one of the lifeboats was identifified with no signs of survivors aboard.

“We remain hopeful that we will try and we will hopefully fifind survivors,” Fedor said. “That is our focus as we move forward.”

The ship was bound for San Juan, Puerto Rico,

and was expected to arrive Friday.

“Not sure if you’ve been following the weather at all,” Randolph wrote in an email to her mother on Thursday, “but there is a hurricane out here and we are heading straight into it.”