Based on an excerpt of a report that is copied below" A tug on the scene of what was the presumed last position found what appears to be a floating container, life ring, and oil sheen that may be indicative.

The El Faro is owned and operated by TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, a division of TOTE, Inc. It is one of three ships serving the Jones Act trade route between the U.S. and Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

“This morning TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico’s second ship, the El Yunque, and a contracted tugboat reached the area between the last known vicinity of the El Faro and the location that the Coast Guard recovered a life ring yesterday and carried out a visual survey,” Tim Nolan, President of TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, said in a statement Sunday morning.

“The two vessels discovered a container, which appears to be from the El Faro, and observed what appears to be an oil sheen.

“At this time there has been no sighting of the El Faro or any life boats,” Nolan added.

Hurricane Joaquin battered the Bahamas for two days beginning Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour, a Category 4 storm on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Joaquin strengthened on Saturday as it moved northeast towards Bermuda, but as of Sunday it was downgraded to a Category 2 storm with winds of 110 miles per hour.

Earlier this year, TOTE Maritime celebrated the launch of the world’s first LNG powered containerships, the Marlin-class ships Isla Bella and Perla Del Caribe. Both ships will service the Jones Act Puerto Rico trade route sailing between Jacksonville, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico, with deliveries scheduled for late 2015 and earlier 2016.

Since Thursday, many have raised questions related to the condition of the El Faro, the ship’s open-top lifeboats and the ship’s passage plan, which seemingly took the ship directly into the eye of Hurricane Joaquin.