Days before the Dali container ship crashed into Baltimore’s Key Bridge, the director of the local Apostleship of the Sea helped some of its crew members run errands before its trek to Sri Lanka.
Andrew Middleton, the group’s director, said crew members contacted him Sunday via WhatsApp, expressing a desire to purchase items it might need before the vessel left Baltimore.
Middleton described the Apostleship of the Sea as the “Catholic archdiocese ministry to seafarers.” It’s a “friendly face to seafarers when they come in,” he told WTOP.
The crew members on board the Dali were looking to shop for items such as toiletries and snacks, Middleton said. On Sunday, a volunteer took five or six crew members shopping.
“Then, they came back to the seafarer center and spent a little time here relaxing,” Middleton said. “They went through our library and took some books and magazines.”
Then, on Monday, Middleton said he heard that a few more crew members wanted to go out. He took two more out for a few hours and then took them back to the Dali.
Based on his discussion with the captain, Middleton said the Dali was going to take about 28 days to get to its destination in Sri Lanka. The ship was planning to sail around South Africa, he said, “to avoid the issues that are going on off the Yemen coast and the Houthi attacks. They were going to avoid that by taking a longer route.”
At the time of the crash and bridge collapse, about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Middleton said he was awake. He heard a noise that initially sounded like thunder, “but then it became a sustained rumbling.”
He started wondering why a jet would be seemingly flying so low overnight. When he woke up later in the morning, he turned the TV on, and within 30 seconds of listening, he heard the Dali mentioned.
“I immediately thought to myself, ‘I was just with those guys,'” Middleton said. “‘I have contact numbers for them. Let me reach out and see if I can get in touch with them and make sure that everyone is OK on board.'”
Middleton did just that, sending a WhatsApp message to one of the crew members he had communicated with. That crew member said everyone was OK.
“I would reach out periodically, and just make sure that they were still doing OK, and remind them that we were here for them, and we would make every effort to get anything that they might need while they’re in their current position,” Middleton said of his messages Tuesday.
He has checked in on the crew periodically, he said, and is considering ways he can help once the ship’s able to move.
“Once they’re back in a berth, we’ll really ramp up our assistance to them any way we can,” Middleton said.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
