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Two more El Faro families settle wrongful death claims

All but ten of the families involved in the sinking of El Faro have now reached settlements with the ship’s owner and operator.

Nearly one year ago, El Faro sank in Hurricane Joaquin while traveling between Jacksonville and Puerto Rico, killing all 33 people on board.

Now, the families of Steven Shultz and Theodore Quammie have agreed to accept $500,000 in pre-death pain and suffering plus “an agreed upon amount” for economic losses. Those are the same terms that have already been accepted by 21 other families.

The settlements deal with wrongful death claims filed on behalf of the deceased crew.

Action News Jax partner News 104.5 WOKV has continued to follow the investigation in to the sinking, which includes probes by both the NTSB and a Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation.

In August, the NTSB announced they were able to salvage 26 hours of data from El Faro’s black box. The Captain’s call to abandon ship can be heard just minutes before the recording ended. Investigators continue to analyze the audio and other information.

In audio previously released by investigators, the Captain reported the ship was experiencing a marine emergency, and that they had lost propulsion and were listing.

The Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation is also working the sinking, including two public hearing sessions they’ve already held and one more that will take place in the coming months. While the NTSB has participated in these hearing sessions, each entity will issue separate findings on the sinking.