Federal officials said Tuesday that with the help of researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution they were able to locate the voyage data recorder that belonged to El Faro, the cargo ship that sank off the Bahamas in October during Hurricane Joaquin, killing 33 people onboard.

The recorder, which could hold clues as to what occurred in the moments before the vessel disappeared, was found by a team of investigators using special equipment in 15,000 feet of water.

The device was pinpointed roughly 41 miles northeast of Acklins and Crooked islands, according to a statement from the National Transportation Safety Board.

“Finding an object about the size of a basketball almost three miles under the surface of the sea is a remarkable achievement,’’ Christopher A. Hart, chairman of the safety board, said in a statement.

The investigation team is made up of the NTSB, the Coast Guard, the Woods Hole Institution, and Tote Services.

The type of recorder that was on El Faro is capable of picking up conversations and other sounds on a ship’s navigation bridge, where the controls of a vessel are located.

If data are recovered from the VDR, it could “provide investigators with important evidence’’ as they try to piece together the ship’s final minutes, officials said.

Seven mariners with New England ties were among the crew members killed when the ship sank while traveling from Jacksonville, Fla., to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 1, in the midst of the hurricane.

It was the second attempt to find the recorder. During a previous mission, officials were able to locate a “debris field’’ but not the device.

Using more advanced sonar and imagery technology deployed from the Atlantis, a research vessel owned by the Navy and operated by WHOI, their luck improved.

The team used two devices to help track down the “coffee-can-sized’’ recorder: the Sentry, an autonomous underwater vehicle that uses sonar to create maps of the sea floor; and the Camper, which is towed by the Atlantis and uses high-definition cameras to collect images.

“We hope that what is learned from the VDR and the examination of the wreckage will help NTSB learn more about how El Faro and her crew were lost and perhaps provide some resolution for the crew’s families and friends,’’ Andy Bowen,Woods Hole expedition leader aboard the Atlantis, said in a statement.

The next step is to try to retrieve the recorder from the depths, according to officials.

Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear.