Finally fastened to land again after almost two months, the crew of the cargo ship Dali will remain aboard for the foreseeable future, their lives largely unchanged for now.
Their world will continue to be the 984-foot hull of the ship as they keep its systems in order and avail themselves to investigators.
The scenery around the ship is likely the difference they will notice the most. No longer stuck under what remained of the Key Bridge, the Dali is now tied up at Seagirt Marine Terminal in Dundalk, where in the early morning hours of March 26, it was loaded with cargo for its long voyage across two oceans to Sri Lanka.
The voyage ended after only two miles when the Dali lost power, went adrift and struck one of the supporting piers that held up the Key Bridge. The crash brought down the bridge in a matter of seconds, effectively paralyzing the Port of Baltimore and putting on indefinite hold the lives of the 21 crew aboard.
Their ship was fully afloat early today for the first time since the collision. Tugboats slowly towed Dali back to port this morning. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are conducting independent investigations into the disaster. The NTSB released its preliminary report last week. The FBI opened a criminal investigation five weeks ago, raiding the ship while it was still stuck in the Patapsco River.
“It is still not known how long the investigation will take, so for the foreseeable future the crew will remain on board,” said Darrell Wilson, spokesman for Synergy Marine, the company that manages the ship and its crew for its owner, Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd. “The Synergy Marine Group will continue to provide them with every care and support. We hope the authorities will allow them to disembark so we can arrange to get them home.”
“The crew are keeping busy with their normal duties on board,” Wilson said, “as well as assisting with the investigation and the ongoing salvage work. Nobody knows the vessel better than they do.”
Wilson said company representatives have been in “constant contact” with the crew of more than 20 since the disaster to offer aid and support. Some examples he gave were counseling, delivery of prepared food to give the kitchen workers a break, and the addition of two more crew to help blunt the workload and give existing crew some downtime.
“All are in good health and are holding up well,” he said. “We continue to emphasize to them and also their families that their safety and well-being are our main priority.”
Synergy also provided replacement phones for the crew after the FBI confiscated their phones as part of the investigation. Their new phones, however, do not contain some of the personal information the crew needs to manage their personal and financial affairs.
“The only concern right now is the return of their phones from the FBI,” said Rev. Joshua Messick, head of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center, which provides comfort and logistics support for foreign crew in Baltimore. “That has caused a whole cadre of problems.”
Messick plans to visit the crew Tuesday to check on their welfare and deliver items some have requested. Most are Indian nationals. They have received visits from U.S. authorities, as well as representatives from religious groups, unions and embassies.
Whether and when the crew will be allowed to disembark is “all up in the air still,” Messick said. He spoke to Synergy representatives Monday and offered to help coordinate some kind of shore leave.
“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Messick said. “It’s just one step at a time, I guess.”
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