Search Team Finds Apparent 'El Faro' Lost Ship Deep in Atlantic

A US Navy search team has apparently found the wreck of the 'El Faro', a cargo ship which made headlines in early October when it sunk, becoming the worst US shipping disaster in over 30 years.

A search team claims to have found the remains of the 'El Faro', a container ship which disappeared days earlier during a hurricane. Now it plans to deploy a deep ocean submersible to confirm the find.

The lost ship sank on October 1 during Hurricane Joaqin, taking 33 crewmen down with it; no-one survived. The ship was scheduled for retirement and retrofitting during its voyage.

Wreckage of missing cargo ship believed to be #ElFaro located in about 15,000 feet of water: https://t.co/uPIrWfgxL8

— NTSB (@NTSB) November 1, 2015

The deep-sea vehicle also intends to find the ship's black box. According to the search team, the newly-discovered wreckage roughly corresponds to El Faro's dimensions.

The sinking appears to have been caused by multiple factors, according to NTSB. There was a breach in the hull, and the ship's main engine had failed, according to a satellite phone call the captain had made.

The company operating El Faro when it sank, Tote Inc, faces at least four lawsuits for the disaster. The company denied fault, saying that the ship was "seaworthy and properly manned" in a protection suit filed in a US federal court, according to Reuters.