The crew of the wrecked Dali container ship are still marooned on the vessel that crashed into a major bridge in Baltimore seven days ago, but have been given WiFi and other amenities to keep them comfortable.
Rescue workers worked tirelessly to save the people who plunged into the icy waters of the Patapsco River after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being hit by the Dali, a 948ft by 158ft container ship, last Tuesday.
But the 22 dozen sailors who were on the ship are being forced to stay on the wrecked vessel, and there are no plans to disembark them any time soon, despite US officials being allowed to get on and off the boat.
Most of the Dali’s crew are from India, with India confirming that 21 of them are from the nation, and one is from Sri Lanka according to the US Coast Guard. Little else is known about the workers.
None of them have been allowed to disembark as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continues its investigation into the crash, which killed six construction workers who were on the bridge at the time.
Shipping activity at the nearby port, one of the busiest in the US, has also grinded to a halt.
Rescue workers worked tirelessly to save the dozens of people who plunged into the icy waters of the Patapsco River after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being hit by the Dali ,
The almost-two dozen sailors who were on the ship are being forced to stay on the wrecked vessel
There are no plans to disembark the crew any time soon
As foreign nationals, they need reams of paperwork to legally disembark from the Dali, and it is currently unknown whether they have the required forms to get off.
On top of visas, mariners need valid shore passes that give them the right to disembark.
While they’ve not been allowed off, last week officials from the NTSB were seen getting onto the wreck of the vessel to interview the crew to understand exactly how the crash happened.
The NTSB’s chair Jennifer Homendy did not say when the crew of the Dali would be allowed to leave, but said they had electricity and food, and appeared to be settling into life aboard the ship.
‘The cook was cooking when I got onboard. It smelled very good.’
Others have also been visiting them on the ship. Reverend Joshua Messick, the executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center, a nonprofit that provides support to seafarers in Baltimore, told NPR that while all the crew members onboard are healthy, ‘they’re trying to be very careful about how much information they provide.’
‘They’re being provided with everything they need, and they’re assisting in the efforts with the Coast Guard and Customs Border Protection, the Army Corps of Engineers, everyone that’s out there working right now’, he added.
Last week officials from the NTSB were seen getting onto the wreck of the vessel
NTSB officials interviewed the crew of the Dali
The NTSB’s chair Jennifer Homendy did not say when the crew of the Dali would be allowed to leave
Messick also told the BBC that they were ‘rattled’ and didn’t want to tell anyone about what happened.
‘They’re not saying much at all to anyone who has been in touch with them,’ Mr Messick said.
‘They didn’t have WiFi until Saturday and they didn’t really know what the perception of the rest of the world was. They weren’t sure if they were being blamed, or demonised. They just didn’t know what to expect.’
He added: ‘They are also in a very sensitive situation. What they can say can reflect on the company. I would imagine that they’ve been advised to keep a low-profile for the time being.’
Questions have been raised over exactly how the crash occurred, and who ought to take responsibility.
CBS reported that an unclassified memo from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said the ship reported losing power before it crashed, with Maryland governor Wes Moore backing up the claim.
Eight construction workers were filling potholes on the bridge when the crash happened
Officials told the outlet that the crew unsuccessfully tried to reboot the propulsion systems, before alerting Maryland Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transit Authority.
They said that this alert allowed local officials to stop traffic on the bridge and likely saved lives.
But NTSB previously said it needs to undertake its full investigation before it can come to a conclusion on exactly what happened.
Chirag Bahri, the international operations manager of the UK-headquartered International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network, told the BBC that it may be months before the sailors are allowed to go home.
‘Maybe after a few weeks, some of the junior ranks may be repatriated home,’ he said.
‘But it may be that the senior ranks are still required to complete the formal investigation and are kept in the US.’
Debris is cleared from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge as efforts begin to reopen the Port of Baltimore on Sunday
Baltimore officials have announced they will build two temporary alternate channels for commercially essential vessels following last week’s collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge
For now, the crew have had to hunker down and get used to life on the boat.
Andrew Middleton, who runs the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Apostleship of the Sea, told the New York Times that the men now have access to TV, magazines and books while onboard the ship.
As for the city of Baltimore, which is still reeling from the devastating bridge collapse, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said a temporary route for ships has opened up near the bridge.
Officials said it will have a controlling depth of 11 feet, a horizontal clearance of 264 feet and a vertical clearance of 96 feet.
He said on Monday: ‘We need to do more work clearing the channel in order to move forward.’
Moore said that there was an urgent need to move the debris from the collapse, and said that this was a dangerous task.
‘Every time we move a piece of the structure, the situation could become even more dangerous. We have to move fast but we cannot be careless.’
MailOnline has contacted the Maryland Port Authority and the National Transportation Safety Board for comment.
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