My source is the 2nd Mate of the ship I was on at the time. Similar route to the TS Erika depicted on page 16 of the report. The El Faro lost propulsion before 0530 on Oct-1-2015 and had been forced to restore it MacGuyver style because no tow for you. He knew because they had a “Not Under Command” going and decided to eavesdrop on the radio. He literally came down for dinner on Sep-30-2015 and talked about it under the assumption that Tote was going to have no choice but to get them towed.

https://media.defense.gov/2017/Oct/01/2001820187/-1/-1/0/FINAL PDF ROI 24 SEP 17.PDF

https://www.marinetraffic.com/blog/when-is-a-ship-not-under-command/