Late on the evening of 30 September 2015, two able-bodied seamen discussed safety equipment as the El Faro headed towards Hurricane Joaquin on what would be its final journey.
No newbie to stormy seas, 60-year-old Jack Jackson had already laid out his immersion suit but told his colleague that he wished he had a pocket electronic beacon like the one owned by the ship's alternate chief mate, according to a transcript of bridge conversations on the combination containership/ro-ro before it sank the next morning.
