US Navy to search for ship lost in storm off Bahamas

A Navy vessel is departing Virginia on a search for a missing cargo ship that sank in the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Joaquin with 33 crew members on board.

The USNS Apache is carrying search equipment and investigators for an effort to retrieve the data recorder from the ship "El Faro." The cargo ship is believed to have sunk in about 15,000 feet of water near Crooked Island in the southeastern Bahamas at the height of the storm. It was carrying cars and retail goods from Jacksonville, Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman Chris Johnson said the Apache was scheduled to depart Monday from Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia. It was to take about two days to in reach the search area.