Baltimore (AP) — Lawyers are asking a federal judge to bar the crew of the freighter Dali from returning to their home countries amid ongoing investigations into the circumstances that led to the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March.
Eight of the Dali Group members were scheduled to disembark the ship and return home as early as Thursday, according to emails included in Tuesday’s court documents. The total of around two dozen seafarers come from India and Sri Lanka.
This would mark the first time any of them had been able to leave the ship since it lost power and collided with one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26.
In the case, the lawyers representing the city of Baltimore said the men should remain in the U.S. so they could be deposed in ongoing civil litigation over who should be held responsible for covering costs and damages resulting from the bridge collapse, which killed six construction workers and temporarily suspended most maritime traffic through The busy port of Baltimore.
“The crew is comprised entirely of foreign nationals who, of course, possess critical knowledge and information regarding the events that gave rise to this litigation,” the lawyers wrote. “If they are allowed to leave the United States, Plaintiffs may never have the opportunity to question or testify.”
The petition requested an emergency hearing on the matter. No ruling was issued in response.
Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for the ship’s owner, said Tuesday night that some crew members are scheduled to leave.
“A portion of the crew is heading home and another remains here to assist with the investigation,” he said via text message.
Wilson said he was unable to provide additional details about how many crew would leave and when. He also said he was unsure when the ship would leave Baltimore for Norfolk, Virginia, where she will receive more extensive repairs.
The massive container ship remained trapped among the wreckage of the fallen bridge for nearly two months as workers removed thousands upon thousands of tons of shattered steel and concrete from the bottom of the Patapsco River at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor.
The ship’s crew remained on board even when explosives were detonated to break the trusses of the fallen bridge and free the vessel from a huge steel gap that had landed on its bow.
The ongoing civil litigation began with a petition from ship owner and managertwo Singapore-based companies seeking to limit their legal liability for the deadly disaster.
A National Transportation Safety Board Investigation discovered that the ship suffered two power outages hours before leaving the port of Baltimore. Moments before the bridge collapsed, it lost power again and went off course. The agency’s investigation is still ongoing to determine what exactly caused the electrical problems.
The FBI also released a criminal investigation.
According to emails included in Tuesday’s court filings, the eight crew members scheduled to return home have already been interviewed by Justice Department investigators and the department does not oppose their departure. The crew will depart Baltimore “probably June 20,” a lawyer for the ship’s owner and manager wrote.
