In its continuing investigation of the sinking of the cargo ship El Faro in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced from Washington on 20 October that having established a factual account, the NTSB has now contracted with the US Navy to locate the ship, document the wreckage on the sea floor and recover the voyage data recorder.

USNS Apache, a fleet ocean tug, was outfitted with specialized equipment for this mission, and departed Little Creek, Virginia, at about 1630 pmEDT on 19 October. She is estimated to arrive at the last known position of El Faro on 24 October to begin the search for the ship and to recover the voyage data recorder.

The search operation is expected to take at least two weeks. According to NTSB the length of the operation will depend on the circumstances encountered.