After nearly three months aboard the massive
cargo ship
'
Dali
', eight
Indian crew members
who were involved in the vessel's collision with
Baltimore bridge
in March departed for India on Friday.
As per the
Baltimore Maritime Exchange
, four of the 21 crew members remained on the 984-foot cargo ship
MV Dali
, which is slated to depart for Norfolk, Virginia on Friday evening.
Eight Indian crew members, including a cook, a fitter, and seamen, have been allowed to leave the US following a judge-approved deal, these individuals are not officers.
The remaining 13 crew members will stay in the US due to ongoing investigations.
The remaining crew has been relocated to a service apartment in Baltimore, where they will stay pending the completion of an investigation.
20 of the crew members were Indian citizens and they were aboard the MV Dali Cargo when it collided with the pillars of Baltimore's
Francis Scott Key Bridge
, causing its collapse and the tragic loss of six construction workers' lives.
The ship owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd, MV Dali will undergo necessary repairs in Norfolk. It was en route from Baltimore to Colombo with a capacity of 10,000 TEU and an onboard load of 4,679 TEU. The vessel's deadweight is 116,851 DWT.
Director of the Baltimore International Seafarers' Center and chaplain for the Port of Baltimore Rev. Joshua Messick told CNN that, "They're anxious, under considerable stress considering they don't know the future. They don't know when they'll see their family again or how they'll be treated here."
As of now, no crew members have been charged in relation to the disaster. The FBI and other federal agencies are conducting investigations into the incident.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge, a 2.6km-long, four-lane structure spanning the Patapsco River in Baltimore, collapsed after being struck by the vessel Dali on March 26.
(With input from agencies)
English (US) ·