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El Faro families prepare to get answers from ship's recovered VDR

Family members of the El Faro crew are hoping to get answers Friday about what happened to the ship.

But they’re also preparing for the pain those answers may bring. The family members are setting up a new support group for when they hear the recordings.

Pastor Robert Green, who lost his son Lashawn Rivera on El Faro, said though he is dreading hearing the recordings the ship’s voyage data recorder may contain, he wants to help other families prepare for what they may learn.

The VDR itself sat 15,000 feet underwater for 10 months.

“The capsule itself appears to be intact,” said maritime expert Rod Sullivan, examining the photo of the VDR that the National Transportation Safety Board tweeted on Tuesday.

Sullivan is also the lawyer for one of the 33 families that lost a loved one aboard El Faro.

“I asked the NTSB if I can listen to the recording and they said no,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said it could take up to three years before the NTSB releases the VDR’s recordings to El Faro families, because it could take that long for the organization to complete their investigation first as required.

“I think the info on the VDR can be critical in establishing what happened,” Sullivan said.

Green said the recovery of the VDR could answer questions and bring closure.

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“Did they make it off the ship? Was there a call to abandon ship?” Green asked.

Green said those answers may come at the cost of hearing some of his son’s final moments.

That’s why he said he’s teaming with local psychologist, Dr. Wilbert Thomas, to develop a free support group for all El Faro families.

“The big question mark is there, you try to work through the process,” Thomas said.

“We don’t know what we’re going to hear, what information is there, and how terrible it’s going to be, I just want to be prepared,” Green said.

“Because there is nobody for the family to bring closure to the grieving, as of right now we have to work them though the process,” Thomas said.

El Faro’s VDR is due in Mayport on Friday morning. The NTSB is holding a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Friday on the recovery of the VDR. Action News Jax will live stream that news conference on actionnewsjax.com.