\n<\/p>\n
Several crew members of a ship that collided with a bridge in Baltimore almost two years ago are still being held in the US by federal authorities despite the fact that no criminal charges have been brought against them.<\/p>\n
In the early hours of 26 March 2024, the MV Dali departed the port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka. While navigating the Fort McHenry channel, the 1,000ft-long Singapore-flagged cargo vessel lost power before striking the bridge. The impact resulted in the deaths of six people who were working on the bridge at the time.<\/p>\n
Map showing Baltimore with the route and collision point of the Dali vessel<\/p>\n
The Dali\u2019s four most senior crew members \u2013 the captain, chief engineer, chief electrician, and second officer \u2013 have remained in Baltimore as part of the ongoing investigation, according to four sources from the maritime sector with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The crew members are from India and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese men don\u2019t know when they are going to see their families again,\u201d said one source. \u201cThey\u2019re stuck here with no light at the end of the tunnel. They don\u2019t know if they\u2019ll ever be hired again. It\u2019s sad and it\u2019s scary. They\u2019re just sitting on their hands right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/span>Emergency response team members speak to the crew of MV Dali after the collision on 26 March 2024.<\/span> Photograph: Synergy group<\/p>\n A report published by the US government\u2019s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in November last year found that the Dali\u2019s crash was caused by a loss of electrical power stemming from a loose signal wire in the vessel\u2019s electrical system. According to the board, this was due to improper installation of the wire. It also said that a lack of countermeasures to reduce the bridge\u2019s vulnerability contributed to the collapse.<\/p>\n The NTSB did not attribute individual fault to crew members, but said the incident exposed broader systemic issues in the vessel\u2019s configuration and safety systems.<\/p>\n Some of the crew remaining in Baltimore have not seen their children in nearly two years. Four additional crew members were allowed to return home in late November on the condition that they return to the US next month.<\/p>\n Authorities have confiscated crew members\u2019 passports to restrict travel, the sources said. They are allowed to move freely around Baltimore, but require the FBI\u2019s permission to travel to other states.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never seen this [detainment] before,\u201d said a source. \u201cIt\u2019s very unusual. But nobody wants to get into a shouting match with the FBI.\u201d<\/p>\n The crew\u2019s employer, Synergy Marine Group, which operated the vessel at the time of the incident, is paying for the men\u2019s accommodation and salary throughout their detainment in the US.<\/p>\n <\/span>Moment bridge collapses in Baltimore after cargo ship collision \u2013\u00a0video <\/span><\/p>\n At the time of the Dali crash, Baltimore\u2019s mayor, Brandon Scott, vowed to take action to hold \u201call entities\u201d responsible, including the owner, charterer, manager\/operator, and the manufacturer of the vessel.<\/p>\n In October 2024, Grace Ocean Private Ltd and Synergy Marine Group, the companies that owned and operated the Dali, agreed to pay $101.98m (\u00a374.38m) to settle a civil claim brought by the US to recover federal response and cleanup costs. The claim did not require an admission of liability for causing the crash and Synergy Marine Group said it \u201cexpressly rejected\u201d liability for the incident that led to the bridge collapse. Separate legal proceedings are scheduled to begin on 1 June 2026, to determine whether the companies are entitled to limit liability under federal maritime law.<\/p>\n The city of Baltimore, the state of Maryland, multiple businesses, cargo owners, and the families of the deceased workers have filed lawsuits seeking damages. Federal prosecutors have not announced any criminal charges related to the incident. The legal proceedings are expected to continue for several years.<\/p>\n <\/span>Crews conduct a controlled demolition of a section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the Dali in Baltimore on 13 May 2024. <\/span> Photograph: Roberto Schmidt\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Barbara Shipley, an inspector with the International Transport Workers\u2019 Federation said her organisation was concerned that the seafarers were still being held in the US, \u201cfar from home, their families and friends\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the final report of the NTSB now released, it is clear these men acted to the best of their ability to avoid the collision,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is our hope that they are exonerated and repatriated as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time the NTSB released its report on the collision, the Maryland Transportation Authority said the bridge collapse was not due to any structural shortcomings. In a statement, it said: \u201cThe collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the tragic loss of life were the sole fault of the Dali and the gross negligence of its owners and operators.\u201d<\/p>\n In a joint statement in November 2025, Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine Group said that they noted the findings of the NTSB report and that they are now reviewing those with their legal teams.<\/p>\n The US Department of Justice was approached for comment but did not respond.<\/p>\n This article was supported by the Pulitzer Center\u2019s Ocean Reporting Network.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Several crew members of a ship that collided with a bridge in Baltimore almost two years ago are still being held in the US by federal authorities despite the fact that no criminal charges have been brought against them. In the early hours of 26 March 2024, the MV Dali departed the port of Baltimore<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[10627,12389,2345,3481,1668,1996,1405,637],"class_list":{"0":"post-43093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-bridge","10":"tag-collapse","11":"tag-crew","12":"tag-held","13":"tag-members","14":"tag-ship","15":"tag-years"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}