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EUR 124,950,000† (EU VAT paid)

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EUR 89,999,000

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• Built: 2018
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EUR 79,750,000† (EU VAT paid)

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• Built: 2007

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EUR 109,000,000 (EU VAT paid)

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EUR 49,500,000†

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EUR 35,800,000

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• Built: 2006 (refitted 2017)

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EUR 15,000,000

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• Built: 1986 (rebuilt 2019, refitted 2019)
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There are people still aboard the ship that crashed into the Baltimore Bridge

Ayesha Rascoe

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with Andrew Middleton of Apostleship of the Sea about efforts to support crew members still aboard the ship that destroyed Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:

Crews of engineers, divers and other workers spent this past week trying to get a grip on the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Some of the twisted debris is still resting on the ship that rammed the bridge. There are still hundreds of tons of hazardous cargo on board the Dali and more than 20 of the ship's crew members. Several organizations have been trying to bring them aid and comfort. One of them is a Catholic ministry, Apostleship of the Sea. Andrew Middleton is their director, and he's joining us from Baltimore. Welcome to the program.

ANDREW MIDDLETON: Good morning.

RASCOE: What can you tell us about this crew? How are they doing?

MIDDLETON: In my limited conversations with them, you know, I've just periodically throughout the days - have asked how they're doing. Is there - everyone OK? Do they need anything? And the response is they seem to be in a positive mindset and doing well.

RASCOE: Seafarers - I mean, they're accustomed to long voyages, but are they accustomed to a voyage this long and really being kind of stuck on the ship like this?

MIDDLETON: It was my understanding, in conversations with a couple of the crew members - they were going to take a route that would take them down around South Africa to avoid some of the Houthi attacks and violence off the Yemen coast. They were mentally prepared for 28 days, you know, the only difference now being - is they're within eyeshot of dry land, and they can't get to it.

RASCOE: Why can't these crew members come ashore for what they need? Why are they stuck on the ship?

MIDDLETON: They were prepared for a 28-day voyage, so they have fresh food and fresh water, and you need to keep the crew on board to monitor mechanical systems, electrical systems, pumps. All those kind of things that make the vessel operate, you need humans to do that. So if they should end up being stranded for a period of time after that 28 days, the ship line will make arrangements to get food and fresh water out to them or, you know, anything else that they might need.

I think we worry that the stress and the trauma of the incident and - that, as time goes on, might start to weigh a little more heavily on them.

RASCOE: Yeah.

MIDDLETON: So, you know, hopefully, they'll be back into a berth sooner than later.

RASCOE: Are there any comfort items that you guys have tried to bring them just to make them, you know, feel better in a difficult situation?

MIDDLETON: So because they travel all around the world, they typically use prepaid data SIM cards in their phones. So I was able to purchase enough SIM cards for the entire crew. And then a care package was put together with Wi-Fi hot spots and some snacks and other things, and we were able to get that out to them via a launch that's being run by one of the salvage companies that is on-site.

RASCOE: We don't think about seafarers or the people that are on these ships that bring us all the items and things that we may need to help our society keep going. What do you want the audience to know about these men and the work that they do?

MIDDLETON: Well, I mean, I think it's important for everyone to realize that these men and women go to sea to support families and - at home. And sometimes, they're from developing nations where jobs and income aren't what they would be in our country, and one way for them to make a really good living is to go to sea. The impact of that is that they sacrifice time with their families. They're honest, hardworking people, and they're trying just to make a living and support - you know, support their families like - just like we're doing.

RASCOE: That's Andrew Middleton with the Apostleship of the Sea in Baltimore. Thank you so much for joining us.

MIDDLETON: Thank you.

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Tangled in Steel With No Way Out: How the Crew Stuck in Baltimore Is Faring

Twenty-two seafarers from India find themselves not only trapped in the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, but also in an unexpected spotlight.

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By Eduardo Medina

Reporting from Baltimore

Even from miles away, the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is a jarring visual: Chunks of steel jut above the water like metallic icebergs. Twisted gray beams protrude in crooked positions. From a park near Fort McHenry, visitors can see the giant cargo ship that struck the bridge and remains lodged in the wreckage.

Less visible, however, are the 22 crew members from India who have remained on the ship, named the Dali, since the disaster on Tuesday.

Little is publicly known about them other than that they are seafarers who embarked on a journey aboard the 985-foot-long cargo ship that was on its way to Sri Lanka, carrying 4,700 shipping containers, when it lost power and struck the Key Bridge, causing the structure to collapse.

Since the accident, which killed six construction workers, the crew members have found themselves in an unexpected spotlight. While keeping the ship operable, they are answering a deluge of questions from officials investigating the nighttime catastrophe, as the evidence of what occurred lies around them in mangled ruins stretching across the bow and deck.

While officials investigate what could have caused the tragedy, another question has emerged this week: What could the crew members, who have limited access to the outside world, be going through right now?

“They must feel this weight of responsibility that they couldn’t stop it from happening,” said Joshua Messick, the executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center , a religious nonprofit that seeks to protect the rights of mariners.

Even so, officials have praised the crew’s swift mayday message that was transmitted over the radio as the ship lost power on Tuesday. Before the Dali struck the bridge, traveling at a rapid eight knots, the mayday call helped police officers stop traffic from heading onto the bridge, most likely saving many lives, the authorities said. A local harbor pilot with more than 10 years of experience was onboard, as well as an apprentice pilot in training.

As the ship remains stuck in the Port of Baltimore, where it may remain for weeks, the lives of the crew members have entered an uncertain phase. But one thing is certain: They will no longer cruise through the sea around South Africa toward their destination in Sri Lanka anytime soon.

But they are not going to imminently dock at the port either, as they must wait for enough debris to be cleared to free the ship and reopen the channel to one of the busiest ports in the United States. On Saturday, the governor of Maryland said officials planned to remove the first piece of the debris.

So, for now, crew members are most likely working a grueling schedule to maintain the ship that is similar to the one they would be if they were out at sea. The difference, though, is that they are in an immobile state as the eyes of the world fixate on them, experts said.

“The captain of the vessel and the crew have a duty to the ship,” said Stephen Frailey, a partner at Pacific Maritime Group, which helps with marine salvage and wreck removal.

According to Chris James, who works for a consulting firm assisting the ship’s management company, Synergy Marine, the crew members have ample supplies of food and water, as well as plenty of fuel to keep the generators going. Indeed, when Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, went onboard the ship this week, she observed the cook cooking. “It smelled very good,” she said.

But there is still no exact timeline for when the ship might be extracted from the wreckage, Mr. James said. Once the N.T.S.B. and the Coast Guard finish their investigations, he said, “we’ll look at potentially swapping the crew out and getting them home.”

India, the home country of the crew members, is one of the world’s largest hubs for seafarers, according to John A. Konrad, a ship captain and the chief executive of gCaptain, a maritime and offshore industry news website. Though Indian captains and engineers are paid less than their American counterparts, Mr. Konrad said, they make a decent living when they work for three or more months out of the year at sea.

Working on a cargo ship, he said, is a 24-hour ordeal with no weekends off: Every day, decks are checked for maintenance and safety, cooks and cleaners serve the other members, and workers in the engine room keep things on track.

Cargo ship crew members do have some leisurely activities available to them onboard, though, such as video game breaks in cabins, workouts in gyms, table tennis sessions and movie nights. The Dali crew has at least a TV, magazines and books onboard, said Andrew Middleton, who runs Apostleship of the Sea, a program that ministers to sailors coming through the port.

Clistan Joy Sequeira, an Indian seafarer who was not on the Dali but who docked in Baltimore from another cargo ship on Friday, said in an interview that he feared the repercussions that the bridge collapse could have on his industry and his country.

“I’m scared that because this crew is Indian, our international image will suffer,” said Mr. Sequeira, 31. “Maybe we lose jobs.”

Some in Baltimore’s port community have had some contact with the Dali crew, albeit brief, through third parties or WhatsApp. Mr. Messick said he sent the crew two Wi-Fi hot spots on Friday because they did not have internet onboard.

Mr. Middleton said he had been keeping in touch with two crew members, reminding them that “we’re here for them.”

“When I’ve asked how they’re doing, their answers range from ‘good’ to ‘great,’” he said. “So, by their own accounts, they’re OK.”

Mr. Messick said he had also sent a care package to the crew through a salvage company helping with operations. In the package were candy, home-baked muffins from a concerned local and thank-you cards from children.

With so many questions still unanswered about the crew members’ next steps, Mr. Messick said he was eager to provide them with trauma care and emotional support. On Friday, he wrote a letter to the captain, which was delivered by another vessel.

“We’re here to support you,” it read.

Mike Baker contributed reporting.

Eduardo Medina is a Times reporter covering the South. An Alabama native, he is now based in Durham, N.C. More about Eduardo Medina

Iranian special forces seize cargo vessel in a key shipping lane, state media reports

Iranian special forces seized a container ship near the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane to the Persian Gulf, the state-run IRNA news agency reported Saturday.

Navy special forces from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used a helicopter to board and seize a container ship, IRNA news reported, adding that the MSC Aries was being transferred to Iranian territorial waters.

Video on the state-owned news network Press TV showed what it said were people using a rope to drop onto the ship. NBC News could not independently verify the footage.

The move could escalate tensions in a region reeling from the war in Gaza and a recent strike, suspected to have been carried out by Israel, that killed senior Iranian military officers. Since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 terror attack and mass hostage taking and Israel’s subsequent full-scale assault on the Gaza Strip, more than 33,000 people have been killed and 75,000 others have been injured.

And attacks by Iran-backed  Houthi militants  on ships in the Red Sea have already rocked global trade as several major shipping lines and oil transporters suspended their services through the waterway.

As companies avoid the Suez Canal, which feeds into the Red Sea, and opt instead to go around Africa to get to the Indian Ocean, it can add up to 14 days to a shipping route, incurring higher fuel costs. And since ships take a longer time to get to their destinations, delays in container and commodity deliveries are inevitable.

IRNA said the Portuguese-flagged ship was operated by the Zodiac shipping company, which is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. Zodiac said in a statement that the ship is managed and operated by the U.K.-based shipping company, MSC, which confirmed Saturday that the MSC Aries had been “boarded by Iranian authorities via helicopter.” The shipping company also said there were 25 crew members onboard and that it is working with “relevant authorities” to ensure their safety.

Iranian authorities did not immediately issue a public statement on the incident.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on X that the MSC Aries had been seized 50 nautical miles northeast of the Fujairah, an area close to the Strait of Hormuz that forms the entrance to the Persian Gulf.

When asked by NBC News, the Israeli government said it had no comment on the ship’s seizure. But Israel Katz, the country’s foreign minister, said on X that Iran was “now conducting a pirate operation in violation of international law.”

In a separate statement Saturday that was not in response to the incident unfolding in the Strait of Hormuz, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that Iran would “bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further.”

“Israel is on high alert. We have increased our readiness to protect Israel from further Iranian aggression. We are also prepared to respond,” he said.

The attack comes after a strike, suspected to have been carried out by Israel, on the Iranian consular building in the Syrian capital of Damascus earlier this month. Israel did not take responsibility for that strike, but Tehran vowed revenge.

Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior member of the Quds Force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ’ elite foreign espionage group, was killed in the blast. He was the most senior Iranian official to be killed since Gen. Qassem Soleimani was targeted by an American airstrike in 2020.

Five military advisers in the IRGC, Iran’s immensely powerful military and political organization, were also killed in the attack. While Israel and Iran have avoided direct conflict for years, the IRGC has helped Tehran wage a shadow war with Israel across the Middle East.

After the attack, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , said at a prayer ceremony celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday that Israel “must be punished, and it will be punished.” Since the building destroyed was a consular building, he said, it amounted to an attack on Iranian soil.

The United States has signaled its support for Israel and worked to persuade Iran to stop short of a significant escalation. While increasingly critical of the way Israel is pursuing the war in Gaza, President Joe Biden has pledged that America’s “commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.”

Henry Austin is a senior editor for NBC News Digital based in London.

Cargo ship stalled near bridge on NY-NJ border, had to be towed for repairs, officials say

A container ship slowed to a halt after losing propulsion near New York's longest suspension bridge Friday night, officials said.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it received reports around 8:30 p.m. Friday that the M/V APL Qingdao lost its ability to propel in the Kill Van Kull Waterway, the strait between New York and New Jersey .

The boat regained propulsion shortly after, but was then towed to the Stapleton Anchorage, just north of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge , where it received an order to fully repair the propulsion system before it continued on its route, the Coast Guard said in its emailed statement Monday.

According to VesselFinder.com, the APL Qingdao was built in 2012 and is registered to Triton Shipping, which did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. The boat left Sunday morning, and the tracking website shows the ship was scheduled to arrive in Norfolk, Virginia Monday morning.

How Francis Scott Key Bridge was lost: A minute-by-minute visual analysis of the collapse

After Baltimore bridge collapse, expert says momentary power outage common

Photos of the APL Qingdao near the Verrazzano Bridge evoked the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after being struck by a cargo ship nearly two weeks ago.

American Pilots’ Association executive director Clay Diamond previously told USA TODAY that power outages are fairly common on cargo ships.

“It’s likely that virtually every pilot in the country has experienced a power loss of some kind (but) it generally is momentary,” Diamond said, speaking about the Baltimore bridge collapse. “This was a complete blackout of all the power on the ship, so that’s unusual. Of course this happened at the worst possible location.” 

Coast Guard spokesperson Ryan Schultz said the APL Qingdao did not suffer a full power outage.

"The APL Qingdao suffered a loss of propulsion that was restored a short time later, which temporarily impacted the vessel’s ability to move through the water without the assistance of the towing vessels that were escorting it," Schultz said in an emailed statement. "This differs from a loss of power, where the ship loses its ability to generate power for all systems onboard, including propulsion."

Contributing: Emily Le Coz, Claire Thornton, Josh Meyer , Tom Vanden Brook

Investigators focus on electrical system of ship in Baltimore bridge collapse

B ALTIMORE (AP) — During the initial stages of a federal probe into the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, investigators are focusing on the electrical power system of the massive container ship that veered off course.

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said her agency is gathering data with assistance from Hyundai, the manufacturer of equipment in the ship’s engine room. Testifying before a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday morning, she said investigators have also requested assistance to examine its circuit breakers.

“That is where our focus is right now in this investigation,” she said. “Of course, that’s preliminary. It could take different roads, different paths as we continue this investigation.”

Homendy said they’ve zeroed in on the electrical system. The ship experienced power issues moments before the crash, as evidenced in videos showing its lights going out and coming back on.

Homendy said information gleaned from the vessel’s voyage data recorder is relatively basic, “so that information in the engine room will help us tremendously.”

Investigators are also examining the bridge design and how it could be built with better pier protection “under today’s standards,” Homendy said.

The container ship Dali was leaving Baltimore, laden with cargo and headed for Sri Lanka, when it struck one of the bridge’s supporting columns last month, causing the span to collapse into the Patapsco River and sending six members of a roadwork crew plunging to their deaths.

Divers have recovered three bodies from the underwater wreckage, while the remaining three victims are still unaccounted for.

Crews have been working to extract sections of the fallen bridge, including those entangled in a muddy mess at the bottom of the Patapsco River.

“This work is remarkably complex,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Officials said they still expect to open a third temporary shipping channel by late April, which will allow significantly more commercial traffic to pass through the port of Baltimore. The east coast shipping hub has been closed to most maritime traffic since the bridge collapse, which blocked access to its main channel.

Moore said efforts continue to unload shipping containers from the Dali, which will eventually be refloated once pieces of the fallen bridge have also been lifted from its bow. He said crews aim to remove 178 containers; 34 have been removed so far.

Moore also called for bipartisan congressional support to fund construction of a new bridge, saying federal lawmakers came together in 2007 to pay for rebuilding the Interstate 35 bridge in Minnesota after it collapsed into the Mississippi River. He called on members of Congress to visit Maryland and see for themselves.

“Sit down with me and my team, get up close to the wreckage,” he said. “See what we’ve been seeing for two weeks. See what it looks like when a steel bridge falls on top of a shipping vessel that is the size of the Eiffel Tower.”

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott also released an action plan to address impacts of the bridge collapse, including rental and utility bill assistance for people experiencing lost wages.

Federal safety investigators remain on scene in Baltimore. They’ve conducted numerous interviews, including with the ship’s pilots and crew members, Homendy said during her testimony Wednesday. She testified at a hearing on her nomination to continue serving as board chair for a second term.

She said the board’s preliminary report on the crash will likely be released early next month.

Safety investigators previously laid out a preliminary timeline leading up to the crash, which federal and state officials have said appeared to be an accident.

Less than an hour after the Dali left Baltimore’s port in the early hours of March 26, signs of trouble came when numerous alarms sounded. About a minute later, steering commands and rudder orders were issued, and at 1:26 a.m. and 39 seconds, a pilot made a general radio call for nearby tugboats. Just after 1:27 a.m., the pilot commanded the ship to drop an anchor on the left side and issued added steering commands. About 20 seconds later, the pilot issued a radio call reporting that the Dali had lost all power approaching the bridge.

Around 1:29 a.m., when the ship was traveling at about 8 mph (13 kph), recordings for about 30 seconds picked up sounds consistent with it colliding with the bridge.