Shipwreck

How a Captain, Company, and Culture Sank the SS El Faro

2015 saw the worst American maritime disaster in decades. The captain of the SS El Faro commanded his crew to sail straight into a hurricane. The ship sank and all 33 crew members died.

The sinking raised troubling questions: Why did the captain choose to sail into the hurricane? Why did no one on board or on shore stop him? And why was such an old and heavily loaded ship even allowed on the water?

The crew of the SS El Faro is gone, but their haunting final hours were preserved by the ship’s black box. In Shipwreck, we hear immersive reenactments from their last voyage and new revelations from investigators, crew members’ families, and mariners who sailed on previous voyages of the El Faro. The narrative investigation reveals how corporate greed, government indifference, and a culture of obedience led to the shocking outcome.

The same forces that sank the El Faro are still at work today—not just in cargo shipping, but across the entire maritime industry, which carries millions of passengers every year.

What happened to the El Faro wasn't just a tragedy. It was a warning we can't afford to ignore.

Special thanks to the Fund for Investigative Journalism for helping fund this reporting.

©2025 Sugar23 Podcast Group, LLC (P)2025 Audible Originals, LLC

WOW

Everything about this program was just so well done! I was completely intrigued and invested in this story.May all the crew rest in peace.

Tragic story

Highly recommend. Exceptional, well researched and put together. Emotional true story about a tragic event.

Incredible storytelling

Fantastic reporting deep-dive into an important story that has relevance to how corporations still run our government today

I Had No Idea

Very well paced and researched. I never gave shipping much thought - things show up at docks. Fantastic insight into the industry that brings everything to us. Scary how "under the radar" it operates.

Incredible account of tragedy

This whole account really blew my mind that something like this could happen. And it’s not an isolated situation, but a horrific result of many elements that led to this. I feel so much compassion for these families and what they went through and are still going through. I’m really glad that I ran across this and learned about what happens behind the curtain of these types of operations.