According to the goods ship’s management business, some of the team members on the ship that struck a main bridge in Baltimore are scheduled to return home after almost three times on board.
A plea that would have prevented the team members from leaving so that they could be interrogated was dropped by Baltimore officials earlier this year.
The 21 seafarers, predominantly from India, have been stranded on the MV Dali since it crashed into Baltimore’s iconic Francis Scott Key bridge on 26 March, causing it to collapse.
Six construction workers who were on the bridge were killed in the incident, which remains the focus of two investigations from the FBI and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The collision sent the mile- much gate, a local travel artery, into Maryland’s Patapsco River and across the vessel’s deck, blocking the port of Baltimore.
The sailors have resided on the ship since the accident took place. Because they were viewed as witnesses and did n’t have valid visas or shore access to enter the US, they were unable to leave the ship.
According to local media accounts, a deal reached between the city of Baltimore, the ship’s masters, and its management firm will then let some sailors to keep the vehicle.
However, they will still need to be notified after leaving the US for subpoenas.
Initial team members leaving and their time of exit are unknown.
According to Synergy Marine, the ship’s management company, spokesperson Darrel Wilson, some of the crew may be to help with the investigation while speaking to the BBC.
He added that the team is “doing well.”
Andrew Middleton, the director of Apostleship of Sea, a program that provides transportation to boats passing through Baltimore, claimed there were “mixed feelings” on board the ship when he met the sailors on Thursday.
” The ones that get to go house are happy, thrilled”, he said. However, the ones who are staying are unsure of when they will return home as well. That’s added to the intellectual strain”.
He added that he thinks some team members might depart in a few days.
According to Mr. Middleton, it is still unclear when the existing sailors may be given beach passes to leave the ship, or what that will “look like” when they are.
Some, he said, may finally be housed in hotels while the investigations development, an experience he said could be “isolating” without their own team members.
In May, two sailors ‘ unions claimed that “unfounded fear of personal criminal liability” and emotional distress had “diminished” the ship’s morale.
Owner of the ship Grace Ocean Private Ltd, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lawyers for Baltimore claimed in court documents that they were informed at the last minute that eight of the seafarers planned to leave the country as early as Wednesday.
Additionally, Mr. Middleton added that he thinks that eight sailors are scheduled to depart.
Initial requests for a judge’s opinion were made by the city to stop that from occurring.
A deal reached late Wednesday, however, includes a guarantee that the “vessel interests will produce the witness in question for deposition during the discovery phase” of legal proceedings, court documents show.
Baltimore officials are currently looking into potential compensation for the incident and have fought against Dali’s owner’s attempts to limit damages to$ 43 million ( £33. 3 ) in favor of a cap.
The Dali’s crew has already been interviewed by the US Justice Department as part of its own investigation, and it has no plans to have them leave.
The 948ft ( 289m ) ship was towed away last month and is now at a nearby container terminal after months of being stranded beneath the metal and steel remnants of the Key Bridge.
Replacement sailors will be brought in while the ship remains at the terminal, according to CBS, the BBC’s news partner.
After 11 weeks of being closed, the shipping channel outside of Baltimore that had been blocked by the crash was re-opened last week.