The ship was found in an upright position, its stern buried in approximately 30 feet of sediment. The navigation bridge and the deck were separated from the vessel and the voyage data recorder has yet to be located.
WASHINGTON--Investigators have confirmed that wreckage of a sunken ship found over the weekend is the El Faro, the missing cargo vessel lost during Hurricane Joaquin.
The National Transportation Safety Board said a U.S. Navy remotely operated vehicle made a positive identification of the remains of the cargo vessel, owned by New Jersey-based TOTE Inc. of Princeton.
The sunken wreckage was discovered on Saturday.
The 735-foot cargo ship with 33 crew members aboard, went missing on Oct. 1 while being battered by winds and seas up to 50-feet, on a regular weekly cargo run between Jacksonville, Florida, and Puerto Rico.
According to the NTSB, El Faro was in an upright position, its stern buried in approximately 30 feet of sediment. The navigation bridge and the deck were separated from the vessel and were not immediately located. The Navy also has yet to recover the voyage data recorder, the ship's "black box" that will help investigators determine exactly what happened to the ill-fated ship .
The ship, which went down in the Bermuda Triangle, was found at a depth of about 15,000 feet, east of the Bahamas in the vicinity of its last known position.
Before communication with the ship was lost, its captain reported that it had lost propulsion, was taking on water and was listing.
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
An undated photo provided by TOTE Maritime shows the cargo ship, El Faro, which departed Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 29, 2015 when Joaquin was still a tropical storm. The ship had 33 crew members. (TOTE Maritime via AP)