Even from miles away, the destruction of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge is a shocking sight: pieces of steel jutting above the water like metallic icebergs. Twisted gray beams protrude in crooked positions. From the park near Fort McHenry you’ll be able to see the large cargo ship that hit the bridge and remained in the wreckage.
Less visible, nevertheless, are the 22 crew members from India who’ve remained on the ship called Dali since Tuesday’s disaster.
Little is thought publicly about them except that they’re sailors who set out on the voyage aboard a 385-foot cargo ship that was en path to Sri Lanka carrying 4,700 containers when it lost power and struck the Key Bridge, causing the structure to collapse.
Since the accident that killed six construction employees, crew members have found themselves in an unexpected highlight. While keeping the ship running, they answer a barrage of questions from officials investigating the overnight disaster, as evidence of what happened lies around them in the shape of mangled ruins stretching across the bow and deck.
While officials investigate what can have caused the tragedy, one other query arose this week: What might crew members who’ve limited access to the surface world be going through now?
“They have to feel the weight of responsibility that they can’t prevent it,” said Joshua Messick, executive director Baltimore International Seamen’s Centera religious non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the rights of seafarers.
Still, officials praised the crew’s quick message via radio when the ship lost power on Tuesday. Authorities said that before Dali hit the bridge while traveling at eight knots, a mayday call helped cops stop traffic heading for the bridge, likely saving many lives.
With the ship stuck in the port of Baltimore, where it might remain for weeks, the lives of crew members have entered a precarious phase. But one thing is definite: they may no longer be cruising the ocean around South Africa towards their destination in Sri Lanka any time soon.
However, they don’t intend to dock on the port immediately because they need to wait until enough debris is cleared to free the ship and reopen the channel to one among the busiest ports in the United States. On Saturday, Maryland’s governor said officials planned to remove the primary little bit of debris.
So for now, crew members are likely working a grueling schedule to maintain the ship just like what it could be like if it were at sea. The difference, nevertheless, is that they’re in a stationary state since the eyes of the world are focused on them, experts say.
“The ship’s captain and crew have a responsibility to the ship,” said Stephen Frailey, a partner at Pacific Maritime Group, which helps with maritime salvage and wreck removal.
According to Chris James, who works for a consulting firm supporting the ship’s management company, Synergy Marine, crew members have enough supplies of food and water, in addition to loads of fuel to maintain the generators running. Indeed, when Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, boarded the ship this week, she watched a chef cooking. “It smelled very nice,” she said.
However, there remains to be no exact timeline for when the ship may be refloated from the wreckage, James said. Once the NTSB and Coast Guard complete their investigation, he said, “we will consider potentially replacing the crew and bringing them home.”
According to John A. Konrad, the ship’s captain and CEO of gCaptain, a maritime industry news website, India, the homeland of the crew members, is one among the world’s largest centers for seafarers. Although Indian captains and engineers earn lower than their American counterparts, Konrad said, they earn a decent living by working at sea for 3 or more months a 12 months.
He said that working on a cargo ship is a 24-hour ordeal, with no weekends off: every single day the decks are checked for maintenance and safety, cooks and cleaners serve the remaining crew members, and engine room employees be sure all the pieces goes in accordance with plan.
However, cargo ship crew members do have some on-board entertainment, corresponding to video game breaks in the cabins, gym workouts, table tennis sessions and movie nights. At the very least, Dali’s crew has a television, magazines and books on board, said Andrew Middleton, who runs the Apostleship of the Sea program, which serves sailors arriving in port.
Clistan Joy Sequeira, an Indian sailor who was not on the Dali but who docked in Baltimore on Friday from one other cargo ship, said in an interview that he feared the implications the bridge collapse could have on his industry and country.
“I’m afraid that because this crew is Indian, our international image will suffer,” Sequeira, 31, said. “Maybe we’ll lose our jobs.”
Some members of the Baltimore port community had contact, albeit briefly, with the Dali crew through third parties or WhatsApp. Messick said he sent the crew two Wi-Fi hotspots on Friday because they didn’t have web on board.
Middleton said he has kept in touch with the 2 crew members, reminding them that “we are here for them.”
“When I ask how they’re doing, their answers range from ‘good’ to ‘great,’” he said. “So by your own admission they are fine.”
Messick said he also sent the crew a care package through a salvage company helping with operations. The package included sweets, homemade cupcakes from a concerned resident and thanks cards from children.
With so many questions still unanswered concerning the crew members’ next steps, Mr. Messick said he wanted to offer them with trauma care and emotional support. On Friday he wrote a letter to the captain who delivered one other ship.
“We are here to support you,” we read.
