The group of sailors aboard the shipping vessel that pummelled into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in late March are still stranded, and it’s unclear when they’ll be able to return home.
In an email to Futurism, a representative from the Maryland Port Authority’s Key Bridge response team confirmed that the 21-person crew of the Dali container ship, which crashed into the bridge at the end of March, is “engaged in maintaining the current status of the ship.”
Translation: they’re still onboard the ship two full weeks after the March 26 crash, which resulted in the deaths of six men who were working on it during the collapse.
As the Key Bridge response representative told us, the crew — which consists of 20 Indian nationals and one Sri Lankan — was “prepared for a 35-day voyage” and thus has “ample supplies on board to support them.”
“We are maintaining an open line of communication with the crew via their ship’s representative,” the email continues, “and they appear in good spirits and health.”
Strangely enough, one of the sailors aboard the Dali was apparently taken off the ship to be hospitalized for minor injuries after the crash, per Synergy, the Singapore-based company that owns the vessel — but he has since been returned to the vessel.
The concept of being stranded in foreign waters after crashing into a beloved piece of infrastructure sounds incredibly daunting, but both Synergy and the Key Bridge response team have said that they have mental health experts in contact with Dali’s crew, who have been equipped with WiFi to communicate with the outside world as they wait out this debacle.
“We have facilitated Baltimore Mission to Seafarers support for mental health resources, religious accommodation, and morale-boosting activities,” the Key Bridge response team’s email reads. “We will continue to monitor their situation and needs and address as necessary.”
As recently as last week, the BBC reported that there are currently no plans to disembark the Dali as both the investigation into the crash and the difficult cleanup process in its aftermath continue.
While they have enough food and supplies, it nevertheless seems like an impossibly stressful situation to be stranded in — and with no clear end in sight, it sounds like a nightmare for those stranded mariners who are very far from home.
More on man-made disasters: There Was Some Shady Stuff Going on With That Door Plug That Blew Out of the Boeing 737
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