Publications
Publications
- January 2021
- HBS Case Collection
Into the Raging Sea: Final Voyage of the SS El Faro
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Mel Martin
Abstract
Captain Michael Davidson of the container ship SS El Faro was determined to make his planned shipping trip on time—but a hurricane was approaching his intended path. To succeed, Davidson and his fellow officers must plot a course to avoid the storm in the face of conflicting weather reports from multiple sources and differing opinions among the officers on what to do. Over the 36-hour voyage, tensions rise as the ships gets closer and closer to the storm. Compounding the challenge, the El Faro was an old ship about to be scrapped. Its owner, TOTE Marine, was in the process of selecting officers to crew its new ships. Davidson and some of his officers were worried that they would soon lose their jobs.
Keywords
Power Dynamics; Crisis Management; Decision Making; Power and Influence; Shipping Industry; United States
Citation
Fuller, Joseph B., and Mel Martin. "Into the Raging Sea: Final Voyage of the SS El Faro." Harvard Business School Case 321-014, January 2021.
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