The crew of the stricken cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge this morning could be trapped on board for up to two weeks as authorities struggle to remove the wreckage, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The 948-foot-long container collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge shortly after leaving its port at 1:26 a.m. this morning, sparking a desperate search for eight construction workers who were thrown into the water.
The ship, a DALI vessel operated by Singaporean company Synergy Group, is believed to have been crewed by 22 Indian nationals, none of whom are believed to have been seriously injured in the incident.
But the director of a local sailors’ charity said he feared they could be stranded on board for up to two weeks after part of the bridge collapsed onto the rear of the ship.
Andy Middleton of the Apostolate of the Sea said the crew would probably not be able to leave the ship until the debris had been cleared.
The crew of the stricken freighter that crashed into a Baltimore bridge this morning could be trapped on board for up to two weeks.
The 948-foot-long container collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge shortly after leaving its port at 1:26 a.m. this morning.
The ship, a DALI vessel operated by Singaporean company Synergy Group, is believed to have been crewed by 22 Indian nationals.
It is believed that none of the crew members were seriously injured in the incident.
Middleton had been helping the men prepare for the trip in the hours before the horror crash and said he has been in constant contact with them since.
He said his main task now was to ensure the sailors had enough supplies for their possible two-week internment.
“I was able to contact them this morning and make sure the crew was safe,” he told DailyMail.com.
“I’ve been speaking to a crew member all day and he simply said they were ‘very busy’, probably trying to figure out what caused the incident and then once that can be determined we will try to repair it.
‘My initial message this morning was to make sure they were okay and if they needed anything we would do our best to get it to them.
“They should have been pretty well supplied with food and water because they were embarking on a 28-day journey.”
Middleton said the men would likely have to remain on board to monitor the ship’s mechanical systems and make sure it does not sink.
He added that they would only be transported to dry land if there were signs that the ship was taking on water.
Middleton said his situation would last as long as it took to clear the remains of the bridge, which he believes could take between 10 and 15 days.
“At the moment there is a part of the deck platform situated above the containers at the rear of the ship,” he added. “I can’t imagine they’ll move the ship until it’s cleared.”
The director of a local sailors’ charity said he feared they could be stranded on board for up to two weeks after part of the bridge collapsed onto the rear of the ship.
Andy Middleton of the Apostolate of the Sea said the crew would probably not be able to leave the ship until the debris had been cleared.
Baltimore City Council member Phylicia Porter told CNN that a body was reportedly pulled from the water Tuesday afternoon.
The speed of the customs clearance operation is likely to have repercussions on the rest of the US economy: Joe Biden claimed that 15,000 jobs depended on the port, one of the busiest in the world.
The bridge crosses the Patapsco River at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor.
The president promised to move “heaven and earth” to achieve its reopening.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said eight people were filling potholes on the bridge when it collapsed, and two of them were rescued from the water, one refused medical treatment and the other was taken to the hospital.
Baltimore City Council member Phylicia Porter told CNN that a body was reportedly pulled from the water Tuesday afternoon.
No further details about the body were released and police have not released the person’s name.
The catastrophic collision has sent shockwaves across the state of Maryland, and Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency.
This afternoon, Catholic churches in Baltimore held masses to pray for families still waiting for news of their loved ones.
Archbishop William Lori, who held a service at Our Queen Mary Cathedral, said he “couldn’t believe” his eyes when he saw news of the horror accident this morning.
“I thought I must be seeing things,” he said.
‘I immediately started thinking about the loss of life, the pain, the tragedy. “This is truly an unprecedented tragedy for our community.”
The construction workers, employees of Brawner Builders, are believed to have been from the local Hispanic community.
Archbishop William Lori, who held a service at Our Queen Mary Cathedral, said he “couldn’t believe” his eyes when he saw news of the horror accident this morning.
Catholic churches in Baltimore held masses tonight to pray for families still waiting for news of their loved ones.
Middleton, who had been assisting the crew of the DALI ship before its voyage, previously said the captain and several crew members shopped at Walmart and consulted books from a library during a quiet stop in Baltimore just hours before setting out on their voyage. sick trip. 28-day predestined trip to Sri Lanka.
Several members of the 22-person team went shopping for supplies with volunteers from the Apostolate of the Sea, a Catholic support group that is part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
‘Yesterday I eliminated two people (including the captain) who went to Target, Best Buy and Walmart. “They were back on the boat around 2:30 or 3 p.m.,” Middleton said.
A few hours later, around one in the morning on Tuesday, the ship left the port.
It collided with the bridge around 1:30 in the morning. Middleton added: “The captain seemed to have been sailing long enough to know what he was doing.”
They were all very grateful for the hospitality we had shown them, they seemed happy and healthy, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just typical sailors.’
He said the charity is also preparing to help the crew once they reach shore. “I am sure that once the ship is released from its current position it will have to dock again for inspection, they will probably be back in port for a few more days and at that time we will be able to come on board and ask what their needs are.” .’
The ship had been flown by specialized local pilots trained to avoid obstacles in ports.
These specialist pilots abandon ships as soon as they are in open water. It is believed that the ship lost power after leaving its port, causing it to deviate from its course and crash into a column supporting the bridge, although a formal report on the causes has not yet been published. she is yet to be completed.
The catastrophic collision has sent shockwaves across the state of Maryland, and Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency.
Officials were quick to rule out the catastrophe as intentional or an act of terrorism, and an initial report from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) found that the container ship “lost propulsion” as it left port.
The Dali container ship had undergone 27 inspections since 2015 and was found to have two “deficiencies,” according to a CNN review of Electronic Quality Shipping Information System (Equasis) records.
Notably, this included an inspection conducted in June 2023 in San Antonio, Chile, where a deficiency was found in “propulsion and auxiliary machinery,” with propulsion failures also noted in CISA’s initial report.
Dali was also involved in an incident in 2016 in the port of Antwerp. A review conducted in November of that year in Antwerp, Belgium, found another “deficiency” in its “structural conditions.”
No deficiencies were found when the ship was last inspected on September 9, 2023 by the United States Coast Guard in New York.
All activity at the Port of Baltimore, one of the most important commercial centers in North America, has stopped.
The ship had left the Seagirt Marine Terminal around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, before turning southeast toward the bridge about half an hour later.
The Dalí was supposed to go under the bridge, but collided with a support beam. Investigations into the accident are still ongoing.
Observers said black smoke was seen emanating from the ship moments before, suggesting the crew may have attempted to reverse its engines.