A controlled explosion on Monday smashed the giant container ship Dali as around two dozen sailors were below deck. In the wake of the bridge’s tragic collapse seven weeks earlier, which left the Dali stranded and claimed six lives, this operation threw debris from Baltimore’s once-iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge into the depths of Maryland’s Patapsco River.
For the workers and the authorities, the wreckage is an optimistic sign that the lengthy ordeal might end. The twenty-one sailors who are stranded and separated hundreds of miles away from their homes are waiting to hear when they will be allowed to return. The exact timeline for their return is yet unknown, though.
The Dali, a 948-foot container ship, embarked on a 27-day journey from Baltimore to Sri Lanka when it collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The crash, attributed to two electrical blackouts that turned off the ship’s equipment, sent massive amounts of steel and cement into the river, leaving the vessel beneath the wreckage.
The crew, which consists of 20 Indians and one Sri Lankan, has been unable to leave because of visa limitations, a lack of required shore passes, and ongoing investigations by the FBI and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). They remained below deck for the controlled demolition on Monday, and a fire crew was on standby.
“They are part of the ship. They are necessary to keep the ship staffed and operational,” US Coast Guard Admiral Shannon Gilreath explained. “They’re the best responders on board the ship themselves.”
Even though the ship is supposed to be refloated this week, it’s still unknown when the Dali will dock. The crew’s isolation was emphasized by Joshua Messick, executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Centre, who noted that since the FBI took their mobile devices for the inquiry, they have been mainly shut off from the outside world for weeks.
“They can’t do any online banking. They can’t pay their bills at home. They don’t have any of their data or anyone’s contact information, so they’re isolated right now,” Messick said. “They just can’t reach out to the folks they need to or even look at pictures of their children before they go to sleep. It’s a sad situation.”
The Singapore Organisation of Seamen and the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union have also expressed concern over the sailors’ condition. In a joint statement, these unions admitted that the crew’s morale had plummeted dramatically due to emotional pain and “unfounded fear of personal criminal liability,” and they called for the “swift return” of their phones to ease the severe suffering that their separation from the family had caused.
Asserting the need to protect the rights and welfare of the crew, Seafarers International Union President Dave Heindel said, “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.”
The Apostleship of the Sea program’s Baltimore manager, Andrew Middleton, told of his visit with the sailors two weeks earlier and how, despite their concerns, they were unexpectedly upbeat. “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 stated. “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 now, community organizations have sent care packages to the crew, including handmade quilts and Indian delicacies, temporary cell phones, and SIM cards (but without data). A representative for Dali’s management company, Synergy Marine, Darrel Wilson, said that the crew is “holding up well” and that their needs are being met “to the best of our ability,” adding that to raise morale, they are receiving catered Indian food and religious services.
There is still no word about when the workers will disembark. Mr. Messick expects to provide “emotional support” by boarding the ship shortly and believes that a restricted amount of shore leave may be granted to small groups of sailors. He tries accommodating their interests, such as watching cricket matches or going to peaceful natural settings.
“We’re just trying to help them breathe a bit,” Messick said. “They’ve been stuck on board this whole time. They need to enjoy a little more of the freedom we enjoy daily.”