Ten members of the Dali’s crew have now been cleared to return home, while plans to move the ship to Norfolk, Virginia, have been postponed until next week.
Synergy Marine Group, the company that manages the ship, told WJZ they are still working to get the remaining 11 crew members home as quickly as possible. A charity assisting the crew said those people are set to be housed in Baltimore during the ongoing litigation surrounding the incident.
“They’ll be here for the duration of the litigation process, which could take a year or more,” said the Rev. Josh Messick with the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center.
Those expected to stay in Baltimore are higher-ranking members of the crew, including officers. Ten of them are from India. One is from Sri Lanka.
Messick said they will provide transportation and assist them in everyday life.
“If you could imagine being stranded in a foreign country, how scary and challenging that can be. We are there to help ease them into that so their day-to-day needs will be taken care of,” Messick said. “They will have money for food. Their accommodations will be taken care of, either by the company that represents them or another agency, organization that’s involved. They will have what they need.”
Synergy Marine said they will provide funding for food and lodging.
The Dali was scheduled to head from Seagirt to Norfolk Friday, but that has been bumped to next week. The latest tentative estimate for when the ship will be moved is at noon Monday.
A replacement crew is currently onboard the Dali.
The ship’s owner, Grace Ocean, has sought to limit liability to $43 million, the salvage value of the Dali and its cargo.
Under an agreement with attorneys, the crew members will make themselves available for depositions, although in court filings, their lawyer said he will advise them to invoke their right against self-incrimination.
“They have so much on their shoulders right now, and the enormity of the situation is not lost on them,” Messick told WJZ. “They know that those six workers died, and I think that most people don’t realize that they mourn with us.”
Messick said the crew members who remain in Baltimore may have to agree to certain conditions. “The hope is they will be allowed to move freely within certain parameters. I’m not sure who will set those parameters or what they will be, but our organization will certainly work within them,” he said.
Messick said some officers have expressed a desire to go to a park.
“They haven’t been in nature at all this whole time. They haven’t had a chance to decompress. They haven’t really had an opportunity to express themselves spiritually, which has been difficult for many of them,” Messick said.
He said the ordeal has caused anxiety and stress. The crew has remained onboard for more than three months — since before the disaster — including weeks stuck in the middle of the Patapsco River and while explosives were used to remove part of the bridge from the ship.
“They’re all looking for reassurance that everything is going to be OK, and that’s not something that I can give. What I can say is I don’t know, but I’m here with you for the duration,” Messick said.
WJZ is a media partner of The Baltimore Banner.
