Dali Update

The  Balmer Sun has some updates on the MV Dali, the container ship that took out the Key Bridge.  Cargo ship Dali readying for departure, could head as early as Friday to Virginia

“They can’t go down and anchor off Cape Henry and wait because they don’t have anchors, right?” Smoak said. “So the movement has to be highly choreographed. They gotta go straight from one terminal to the next.”

One of the Dali’s anchors was “completely crushed” during the bridge collapse, while the other was cut free during the salvage, Smoak said.

Without anchors and still quite damaged, the Dali will be carefully escorted to Norfolk. It will sail under its own power, but four tugboats will assist it the entire way. A Coast Guard cutter will also form part of the convoy and enforce a “moving safety zone.” Another work boat — from the salvor Resolve Marine — will also escort. In total, seven vessels, including the Dali, will make the 16- to 20-hour trip.

“It’s another set of eyes to ensure that nothing falls off of the vessel,” Smoak said of the salvor’s boat. “If something were to fall off the vessel, there’s someone there to immediately respond, mark it and recover it.”

I guess you don't just run to West Marine an buy a new anchor. Key Bridge collapse: Judge’s order seeks to keep crew of Dali in US until Thursday hearing 

The motions asked a judge to require the crew to stay in the U.S. until they receive further instructions from the court, and to require the ship’s lawyers to guarantee the crew’s continued availability.

“The crew consists entirely of foreign nationals who, of course, have critical knowledge and information about the events giving rise to this litigation,” wrote Adam J. Levitt, one of the lawyers for the city. “If they are permitted to leave the United States, Claimants may never have the opportunity to question or depose them.”

Senior U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar set a court hearing for Thursday and ordered lawyers for the ship’s owners not to facilitate the crew’s departure. The order does not block the crew from traveling, but requires the U.S. government and the ship’s lawyers to make every effort to keep the crew present through Thursday’s hearing.

12 weeks after Key Bridge collapse, Dali crew still on board. Now a deal means some could be leaving.

They’ve been stuck aboard the Dali container ship for more than 12 weeks now: as the vessel crashed into and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, as divers recovered the bodies of six road workers who were killed while filling potholes on the span, as a massive, floating salvage operation sprang up around them to clear the debris.

The crew remained on board even as explosives were set off to break up the huge piece of the bridge that had landed on its bow and stranded it in the river and the battered vessel was refloated and tugged back into port a month ago.

Now a deal between attorneys for the city and the ship’s owner and manager means eight of the crew members could be heading home as soon as Thursday. The city dropped its objections, filed late Tuesday, to the crew members’ departure. A federal judge had scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. Thursday to weigh whether to keep them here at least for now. It’s not clear whether that hearing will proceed.

The eight, including a cook, several seamen, a fitter, an oiler and a general steward, now may be able to fly home.

The city, which has filed a claim against the Dali’s Singapore-based owner and manager for negligence in the bridge collapse, had feared it might lose the opportunity to question crew members as part of the litigation should they leave the country.

I'm sure the cook has a lot of information to contribute. Update, Key Bridge collapse: Eight Dali crew members can go home, will be deposed later under last-minute deal 

The eight, including a cook, several seamen, a fitter, an oiler and a general steward, now may be able to fly home after spending 12 weeks aboard the Dali.