Crew trapped on Baltimore ship, seven weeks after bridge collapse
On Monday, amidst a controlled explosion that reverberated through the area, nearly twenty sailors remained aboard the Dali, nestled below deck within the vast hull of the ship.
The synchronized blasts propelled fragments of Baltimore’s once-famous Francis Scott Key Bridge into the murky depths of Maryland’s Patapsco River. This event occurred seven weeks after the bridge’s collapse, resulting in six fatalities and leaving the Dali stranded.
Authorities, alongside the crew, are optimistic that the demolition signals the commencement of the conclusion to a protracted ordeal, during which the 21 men aboard have been confined and isolated, thousands of miles from their homes.
However, the timeline for their return remains uncertain.
The Dali, a towering 948-foot (289-meter) container ship, was embarking on a 27-day voyage from Baltimore to Sri Lanka when it collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing substantial steel and concrete to cascade into the Patapsco River, ensnaring the vessel beneath a tangled mass of wreckage.
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed that two electrical failures had incapacitated crucial equipment prior to the incident, highlighting the ship’s loss of power twice within the preceding 10 hours.
Comprised of 20 Indian nationals and one Sri Lankan, the crew has been unable to disembark due to visa constraints and the absence of requisite shore passes, compounded by ongoing investigations by the NTSB and FBI.
Despite the controlled demolition efforts on Monday, the crew chose to remain onboard as authorities strategically employed small explosive charges to sever a segment of the bridge entangled with the ship’s bow.
In anticipation of the demolition, US Coast Guard Admiral Shannon Gilreath assured that the crew would remain below deck, accompanied by a fire crew on standby.
He emphasized their indispensable role in maintaining the ship’s functionality, portraying them as the foremost responders in any emergency.
While the ship is anticipated to be refloated in the ensuing week, the timeline for its two-nautical-mile journey to port remains uncertain.
Joshua Messick, the executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding mariners’ rights, has maintained contact with the crew.
According to him, the crew has been deprived of communication with the outside world for “a couple of weeks” following the confiscation of their mobile phones by the FBI as part of the investigation.
Mr. Messick elucidated the dire circumstances, detailing the crew’s inability to conduct online transactions, pay bills, or access essential contact information, leaving them profoundly isolated and disconnected from their loved ones.
The plight of the sailors also attracted the attention of the two unions representing them, the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union and the Singapore Organisation of Seamen.
In a joint statement on 11 May, the unions said that “morale has understandably dipped”, driven by “unfounded fear of personal criminal liability” and emotional distress.
The statement also called for the “swift return” of the crews’ phones, noting that losing communication with family members is “causing significant hardship for crew members with young children at home.”
Dave Heindel, the president of the Seafarers International Union, said that “however long the investigation takes, the crew’s rights and welfare should not be infringed upon”.
“We call on the authorities to be mindful that seafarers utilize mobile devices to conduct personal business for bill payments, and, more importantly, transfer money to their home country to sustain families,” he said. “Crew members are becoming demoralized without the basic tools we all take for granted.”
Andrew Middleton, who runs Apostleship of Sea – a program that ministers to ships coming through Baltimore – told the BBC he visited the sailors two weeks ago and found them in “good spirits” despite constant worries.
“Once we broke the ice and got everyone to say their name and what part of India they were from, and talk about if they were married or had children, we got the ball rolling,” he said.
“They were willing to kind of poke fun at one another a little bit…. we did our best to get them laughing and joking, hopefully, to take their mind off things for even a few minutes.”
For the time being, the crew has been given SIM cards and temporary mobile phones without data included, according to Mr Messick.
They also received care packages from various community groups and private individuals, which in recent weeks have included batches of Indian snacks and handmade quilts.
The BBC has reached out to the ”unified command” overseeing the government’s response to Dali and the bridge collapse for clarity on when the sailors might be able to leave the ship and, eventually, be repatriated.
Darrel Wilson, a spokesperson for Synergy Marine, the Dali’s Singapore-based management company, told the BBC that the crew is “holding up well” and that company representatives dispatched to Baltimore have been “checking on them constantly, from day one.”
“All their needs are being met to the best of our ability,” Mr Wilson said, adding that shipments of catered Indian food have been sent aboard to allow the cooks to rest.
Various religious representatives, including Hindu priests, have been providing services and emotional support to those aboard.
“It’s small things to us,” he said. “But those are big morale boosters.”
Mr Wilson, however, said he was unable to provide a timeline for the crew to disembark, noting that – in addition to the investigations – “nobody knows the ship better than they do” and that they are integral for it to function.
Mr Messick said he expects to be able to board the ship to provide “emotional support” as soon as it is moved out of the shipping channel.
After that, he believes that small groups of sailors – perhaps five at a time – will be eligible for shore passes, albeit with heavy restrictions on their movements.
They will, for example, likely be required to have an escort for the duration of their time on shore.
“I’m trying to find out what the crew wants to do. I don’t want to take them to a baseball game if they are going to be bored,” he said. “So I’ve reached out to a local cricket club to see if they can organize a match.”
Some crew members, such as the ship’s captain, expressed an interest in being “somewhere contemplative, in nature”, Mr. Messick said.
“We’re just trying to help them breathe a bit,” he said. “They’ve been stuck on board this whole time. They need to enjoy a little more of the freedom that we enjoy every day.”
