ROCKLAND, Maine — A gathering to honor one of four Maine natives lost at sea when the cargo ship El Faro sank near the Bahamas during a hurricane earlier this month will be held Sunday at the Samoset Resort.
Gov. Paul LePage has ordered flags on all public buildings and grounds in Knox County to be flown at half staff on Sunday in honor of Dylan Meklin, a 2010 graduate of Rockland High School who in May earned a bachelor of science degree in marine systems engineering from Maine Maritime Academy.
Meklin, 23, is survived by his parents, Karl and Elaine Jordan Meklin, and his brother Samuel Meklin, according to his obituary.
“While at MMA, Dylan acquired a diverse brotherhood of roommates, classmates and best friends, all of whom he would do anything for,” it states. “He had a carefree spirit and infectious sense of humor that brightened the days of others.”
Meklin was one of 33 crew members lost when the 790-foot El Faro went down Oct. 1 off the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin in the worst shipping disaster involving a U.S.-flagged vessel since 1983. Five were Maine Maritime graduates and four were from Maine.
“We continue to pray and keep in our thoughts those aboard the El Faro, including our five Mainers,” LePage said in a Friday press release. “The first lady and I are deeply saddened by this loss of life and our hearts go out to the families and friends of our fellow Mainers, as well as all the other crew members.”
Also lost aboard the El Faro were 53-year-old Capt. Michael Davidson of Windham, a 1988 graduate of Maine Maritime; Michael Holland, 25, of Wilton, a 2012 graduate of Maine Maritime; and Danielle Randolph, 34, also of Rockland, a 2004 Maine Maritime grad.
Another crew member, Mitchell Kuflik of Brooklyn, New York, graduated from Maine Maritime in 2011.
Meklin was a third assistant engineer on the vessel.
After leaving Florida en route to Puerto Rico, Davidson informed the cargo ship’s parent company that he intended to avoid the predicted path of a hurricane, but the following day he sent a mayday saying the container ship had a hull breach and had lost propulsion, according to a Tuesday report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board. At the time of the emergency call, the vessel was only about 20 miles from the eye of the storm, according to electronic data, the report states.
LePage previously ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in Franklin County on the day of Holland’s memorial and in Knox County during Randolph’s tribute.
Meklin’s memorial service is 1 p.m. Sunday at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. Those who want to share a memory with the Meklin family can post on his book of memories at the Burpee, Carpenter and Hutchins Funeral Home website, bchfh.com.