The assemblage of 20 individuals from India and a resident of Sri Lanka, constituting the crew of the cargo ship implicated in the collision with a pivotal bridge in Baltimore, remains engaged in their customary tasks and shall persist aboard until the completion of the inquiry into the incident. It has been substantiated that there exist 21 members of the crew aboard the vessel.
The occupants of the crew are diligently occupied with their routine responsibilities aboard the vessel, concurrently extending support to the National Transportation Safety Board and Coast Guard personnel engaged in the investigation,” affirmed a representative from Grace Ocean Pte and Synergy Marine in communication with PTI.
The crew maintains presence aboard the cargo vessel Dali, involved in the collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge spanning 2.6 kilometers over the Patapsco River in Baltimore during the early hours of March 26. The 984-foot vessel was en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Regarding the duration of the crew’s stay aboard the vessel, the spokesperson remarked, “At present, the timeline for the investigative process remains indeterminate, and until the conclusion of said process, the crew shall continue to remain aboard.”
The Singapore-flagged vessel Dali is under the ownership of Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and under the management of the Synergy Marine Group. Previously, the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center, a non-profit organization, had attested to the well-being of the Indian crew aboard the cargo vessel. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Delhi had earlier confirmed the presence of 20 Indians aboard the Dali, with the Indian embassy in Washington maintaining close communication with them and local authorities.
In the preceding week, authorities in the United States commenced the interrogation of personnel aboard the Dali. The Synergy Group released a statement indicating that the NTSB had boarded the vessel on Wednesday, procuring documents, extracts from the voyage data recorder, and other evidentiary materials as part of their investigative process. Grace Ocean and Synergy have affirmed the safety of all crew members and two pilots aboard the vessel. Nonetheless, they reported a solitary minor injury, noting that the injured crew member had received medical attention and subsequently been discharged from hospital care.
Six individuals, part of a construction team engaged in repairing potholes on the bridge at the time of the collision, are presumed deceased. Divers have retrieved the bodies of two of the construction workers from a crimson pickup truck discovered submerged in the river, with efforts ongoing to locate the remaining four victims.
President of the United States, Joe Biden, remarked that the crew aboard the Dali had promptly notified transportation authorities upon losing control of the vessel, thereby facilitating the closure of the Baltimore bridge to vehicular traffic prior to the catastrophic collision, assuredly averting loss of life.
