Deal Reached for First Dali Crewmembers to Depart

A deal was reached between the lawyers representing the City of Baltimore and the other claimants in the lawsuits with the owners and operators of the Dali that will permit the first of the crewmembers to depart the ship some 12 weeks after the vessel hit the Baltimore bridge. At the same time, the U.S. Coast Guard is reporting that the containership might also be departing Baltimore as early as tomorrow, Friday, June 21 with a replacement crew aboard.

The U.S. District Court met on Thursday for an emergency pretrial conference and the Judge James Bredar signed off on the deal that had been reached for the crew. The order filed today clears the way for three Able Body seaman, an ordinary seaman, an oiler, a fitter, a cook, and a general steward, to leave the vessel at the end of their contract and travel as early as today to their homes. Late on Thursday, the International Seafarers Center said travel has been arranged for Friday evening for the eight people.

The lawyers had initially sought to block the efforts to begin supplying a replacement crew to the vessel arguing that they had only been given two day’s notice despite earlier promises from Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine. They told the court that the departure could prevent “crucial discovery,” for the individuals who might not be available once they left the country.

All the lawyers met and conferred with the lawyers for Grace Ocean and Synergy and later filed a motion to withdraw their request. In exchange, Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine agreed to substantively respond to written discovery and guarantee the appearance of the eight crewmembers when the case reaches the deposition stage. The crewmembers leaving the ship are agreeing to appear in London or elsewhere to provide depositions which are not expected to happen sooner than November 2024.

The eight crewmembers of the approximately 21 aboard the vessel will be replaced by Synergy Marine. So far, there has been no mention of the timing when other crewmembers might be permitted to travel to their homes in India and Sri Lanka. The Seafarers Center said the crew will be moving to hotels onshore in Baltimore as they are being required to remain at the time as the legal cases proceed. The government will provide apartments or hotel rooms for the duration of the litigation.

The Dali after spending 55 days trapped under the wreckage of the Francis Scott Bridge has now been at Baltimore’s Seagrit Terminal for 31 days. During that time, additional debris was removed including more of the damaged containers from the bow. The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the work was completed yesterday and that there is no longer any overhanging debris and the U.S. Coast Guard believes all the loose debris has been removed or secured.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Baxter Smoak told The Baltimore Sun that the vessel could depart as early as Friday in what will be a “highly choreographed” operation to get the vessel from Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia for the next phase of the recovery and repairs. Earlier reports had said the vessel would be offloaded and initial repairs made to the bow so that the owners could move the containership to another shipyard.

Describing the operation to The Baltimore Sun, the Coast Guard explained one challenge is that the Dali no longer has anchors. The one that was dropped on March 26 in an effort to slow the ship was cut off during the first phase of the salvage operation. The other anchor was “completely crushed” the newspaper says in the allision with the bridge. The ship will be underway with some of the debris still on its bow and it must go the USCG says from terminal to terminal not holding offshore to wait for a space. Late on Thursday, the International Seafarers Center said the departure is tentative set for 1800 on Friday.

While the Dali will be moving under its power for the voyage which is estimated to take 16 to 20 hours, the vessel will be accompanied by a small flotilla for safety. The USCG told The Baltimore Sun there will be four tugs accompaning led by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. Resolve Marine will also supply an escort with the USCG saying one goal was to monitor to confirm nothing falls from the vessel. If it does the escorts will make it possible to immediately mark the debris for recovery.