In October 2015, the cargo ship El Faro sank in Hurricane Joaquin with 33 people aboard. Hear Captain Michael Davidson's emergency calls and the bridge transcripts from the ship's Voyage Data Recorder.
This episode reconstructs the final hours of the voyage from primary sources.
You'll hear the recorded emergency phone calls from Captain Michael Davidson as the ship took on water and lost propulsion. We also go through transcripts from the Voyage Data Recorder, the "black box" recovered from the ocean floor during the NTSB investigation. The bridge conversations show how decisions were made and how quickly conditions deteriorated.
Content note: this episode includes real emergency audio and may be distressing to some listeners.
This is a replay of Episode 38, originally released in January of 2024.
El Faro, El Faro sinking, Captain Michael Davidson, Hurricane Joaquin, Voyage Data Recorder, NTSB investigation, shipwreck podcast, maritime disaster, true story
Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes can be found at https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com.
Original theme music by Sean Sigfried.
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