Judge sets trial date for remaining El Faro settlements

Date for final hearing set for May 7, 2018

The 40-year-old U.S.-flagged El Faro was headed to Puerto Rico from Jacksonville, Florida, and went missing near the Bahamas on Oct. 1 with 33 people on board. (CNN, WJXT, WGME, NOAA, NASA, MarineTimes.com, family photos)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A federal judge has set a trial date for the remaining families who have not settled with El Faro's parent company TOTE Services.

The trial date is set for May 7, 2018. Families were hoping for a trial date in 2017, while TOTE wanted a trial in 2019.

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During a hearing in federal court Wednesday, Judge Harve Schlesinger split the difference. TOTE wants to cap its liability to $15,000,000.

On Wednesday, News4Jax also learned the USS Apache will leave a Navy base in Virginia next week to try and recover the data recorder on board the El Faro.

The cargo ship El Faro sank in October during a hurricane while en route to Puerto Rico. All 33 crew members on board were killed.