El Faro crew members honored a year after ship sank

It’s been one year since El Faro sank off the coast of the Bahamas.

Thirty-three crew members on the Jacksonville-based cargo ship died after the ship sailed into Hurricane Joaquin.

Families remembered their lives during multiple memorial dedications on Saturday.

The mariners were remembered at the Seafarer’s Union in the form of a lighthouse, which is the English translation of “El Faro.”

Rochelle Hamm’s husband Frank was one of the 33 people aboard El Faro.

She says the investigation has come a long way in one year, with investigators recovering El Faro’s black box off the coast of the Bahamas.

“God allowed them to pull it up and still retrieve information when man said it couldn’t be done,” she said.

She said it’s also been a year of many unanswered questions.

The Coast Guard is still investigating why the ship sailed into Hurricane Joaquin.

Hamm is pushing for legislation that would provide oversight for whether ships should sail into a storm.

It’s called the “Hamm Alert.”

“Why did it have to go out in a storm like that?," she said. "The ship should have never left but we know it did. In the midst of that, I’m fighting for change.”

At Dames Point Park, TOTE Maritime and the city unveiled a memorial statue during a private ceremony.

El Faro’s owner is paying for the statue, while the city will help with maintenance.

Cox Media Group