The crew of the container ship “Dali”, which rammed the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore in March, was stranded for months. The ship is now to be repaired.
Following the accident on March 26, in which the largest bridge in Baltimore was destroyed and six people lost their lives, US investigators detained the crew on board. It was ruled in court yesterday that the crew, working for Synergy Marine, can return to India and Sri Lanka as long as they are available to testify.
Repair of the “Dali” soon
The “Dali”, chartered by Maersk, will soon be transferred from Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia, where it will be repaired. However, the legal dispute over the ship accident will continue for some time.
The company Grace Ocean, owner of the “Dali” and the ship manager Synergy Marine filed a motion for limitation of liability in court on April 1. Their aim is to limit their liability to 43.6 million dollars. Payments in the billions are expected in the case.
Power failure led to collision
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which initiated the criminal investigation, a power failure occurred on board the “Dali”, after a crew member accidentally closed an exhaust cap during maintenance work. As a result, one of the diesel engines came to a standstill – four minutes and about 1 km before the ship collided with a support pillar of the Francis Key Bridge while leaving the harbor.
Although the crew was initially able to restore power before the collision, there was another power failure about 300 m from the bridge, affecting all three steering pumps. As a result, the crew was no longer able to move the rudder.
A replacement bridge is to be put into operation by 2028. Insurers are already warning that the accident involving the “Dali” could be one of the biggest claims in the history of shipping.
