--- description: The ship went missing in October during Hurricane Joaquin title: Investigators End Search of El Faro Without Finding Black Box image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt303dfdf3cfa2c7cb/6988716bab6d77a68a6a72d4/el-faro-cargo.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Bahamas](/tag/bahamas/) ## Bahamas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Investigators End Search of El Faro Without Finding Black Box by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 16, 2015 11:03 PM CUT  An undated handout file picture made available by TOTE Maritime shows the cargo ship El Faro at sea. A search team found what it said was the wreck of a cargo ship that sank during Hurricane Joaquin with the loss of 33 crew members, a US official said on Oct. 31, 2015. An undated handout file picture made available by TOTE Maritime shows the cargo ship El Faro at sea. A search team found what it said was the wreck of a cargo ship that sank during Hurricane Joaquin with the loss of 33 crew members, a US official said on Oct. 31, 2015.TOTE Maritime—EPA by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 16, 2015 11:03 PM CUT The National Transportation Safety Board says it has completed its search and video documentation of the sunken El Faro, but [did not find its voyage data recorder](http://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/PR%5F20151116.aspx "undefined"), also known as a black box. The cargo ship went missing on Oct. 1 during Hurricane Joaquin with 33 crew members aboard and was [located](http://time.com/4097064/bahamas-el-faro-officials/ "undefined") on Oct. 31 near Crooked Island in the Bahamas in 15,000 foot-deep water. NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart said in a [press release](http://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/PR%5F20151116.aspx "undefined"), “While it is disappointing that the voyage data recorder was not located, we are hopeful that we’ll be able to determine the probable cause of this tragedy and the factors that may have contributed to it.” The NTSB does not have any further search missions planned. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4115471/investigators-end-search-of-el-faro-without-finding-black-box/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4115471/investigators-end-search-of-el-faro-without-finding-black-box/"},"headline":"Investigators End Search of El Faro Without Finding Black Box","datePublished":"2015-11-16T23:03:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:40:51.442Z","description":"The ship went missing in October during Hurricane Joaquin","url":"https://time.com/4115471/investigators-end-search-of-el-faro-without-finding-black-box/","keywords":["Bahamas"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt303dfdf3cfa2c7cb/6988716bab6d77a68a6a72d4/el-faro-cargo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt303dfdf3cfa2c7cb/6988716bab6d77a68a6a72d4/el-faro-cargo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"epa05005567 (FILE) An undated handout file picture made available by TOTE Maritime shows the cargo ship El Faro at sea. 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