‘Enough is enough’: Dali crew members ask court to let them go home

The federal government and a massive shipping company are locked in a legal tug-of-war. In the middle are a dozen cargo ship crew members.

Those Indian and Sri Lankan seafarers have largely been stuck in the Baltimore area since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in March 2024. On Tuesday, their employer, Synergy Marine, pleaded with the court to let them return home. They “effectively are detained,” attorneys for Synergy wrote in a federal filing, adding that after nearly 27 months tethered here, “enough is enough.”

But during a status conference for the federal criminal Key Bridge case, U.S. District Judge James Bredar was unconvinced. He questioned whether it was appropriate for Synergy’s counsel — as opposed to attorneys specifically for the crew members themselves — to shine a light on witness rights.

With the exception of the chief engineer, who has had his prosecution deferred, the seafarers have not been charged with crimes. However, they could serve as witnesses in a criminal trial.

Whether witnesses appear in person, as opposed to in a video deposition, could be crucial to the case; in-person testimony is often considered to be more persuasive to juries.

Five crew members — two of whom were on the Dali at the time of the crash and three who were on other vessels — sat in during Tuesday’s conference. All could be potential witnesses, since Synergy faces charges tied to the Dali and two other ships.

Matthew Phelps, an assistant U.S. attorney, stressed the importance of “as many witnesses in the box as possible.”

Kierstan Carlson, an attorney for Synergy, argued for the seafarers to return home and for a speedy trial to begin in January, rather than later in the year.

Bredar said that, by virtue of “reading the newspaper like everybody else in Baltimore,” he was aware the crew members remain in town, but said the company’s filing was the incorrect mechanism to get them home.

He also sided with the prosecutors’ trial timeline. It is scheduled to begin on Oct. 4, 2027, and to last roughly seven weeks.

Rather than set an ambitious start date, Bredar said he preferred to grant ample time — and then refuse to extend the deadline.

“Parties can take the dates given to the bank,” he said.

The Dali knocked down the Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, killing six construction members filling potholes on the roadway. In the two years since, teams of lawyers have battled in both civil and criminal courts.

Maryland is working to rebuild the bridge, which is not expected to be completed until at least 2030.

In court Tuesday, the five crew members sat quietly, occasionally whispering with their attorneys. Owen Duffy and Shaun Clarke, lawyers for the seafarers, did not speak during the hearing and declined to comment afterward.

The sailors have been “marooned” in the Baltimore area for more than two years. Some have been given respite to go home — including one who briefly returned for his own wedding — but others have never left.

One set sail on the Dali in July 2023, meaning he has not been home in nearly three years.

They receive their salary, lodging, and a per diem of at least $48 per day.

“They have been living in hotels in a foreign country unable to work; their skill sets are dwindling; and their livelihoods are in danger,” Synergy’s attorneys wrote.

Locals who look after sailors have taken them on field trips to Washington and to Camden Yards and set up cricket watch parties. But the crew members mostly keep to themselves and talk on the phone with family.

The Tuesday hearing did not shed light on when they could leave.

Synergy and the U.S. Coast Guard entered into what’s called a “security agreement” in 2024. The deal, which is common in criminal maritime cases, requires sailors to surrender their passports and makes it difficult for them to leave the area.

The agreement has no definite timeline, leaving the sailors in limbo. In theory, the company and Coast Guard could agree to an amended deal.

Technically, the crew could demand their passports and seek to go home. But that could trigger recourse from the federal government, including possible detention. Synergy has referred to this as a “Hobson’s choice” — the illusion of alternatives.

“[The] seafarers cooperated fully with the Government’s requests consistent with the Security Agreement,” Synergy’s attorneys wrote. “And it is time for them to go home.”