 The fleet tug, USNS Apache, is now on station to begin searching for the wreckage of the missing U.S. flag merchant vessel El Faro, which has been missing for approximately three weeks. El Faro went missing during the height of Hurricane Joaquin and reported a hull breach which led to the failure of the main propulsion system while off the coast of the Bahamas. The search area is approximately 100 square miles and the water depth for the search area is estimated to be 15,000 feet. Apache is using a toping locator to help locate the ship and if possible to retrieve the voyage data recorder commonly known as a black box. The ship is also equipped with several pieces of equipment to help with the search, which includes a voyage data recorder locator, side scan sonar and an underwater remote operated vehicle.