VIDEO: Some Dali crew members set to go home

Dali crew has remained on board the ship, which has been alongside at terminal since May 20 [Screengrab from WUSA9 video]

Baltimore media, including WBAL TV, report that eight members of the crew of the containership Dali are set to return to their homes in India and Sri Lanka. The way for their departure was opened after attorneys for the City of Baltimore dropped a petition seeking keep the crew in the U.S. after receiving commitments from Dali owner, Grace Ocean Private Limited, and manager, Synergy Marine, to respond to a request for interviews within 30 days and to guarantee crew members will appear.

WBAL TV reports that the depositions will take place in London or elsewhere no sooner than November and will follow U.S. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The company will provide statements made, personnel files, employment contracts, training files and records of audits.

WBAL TV notes that the status of the remaining 13 Dali crew members is still unknown, with Synergy Marine Group saying that is still in the process of putting together a replacement crew.

The Dali crew have been detained on board the ship since it struck the Key Bridge on March 26 —including remaining on board even as explosive cuts were made to clear parts of the bridge structure that were pinning the vessel down.

Meantime, there are reports that the Dali itself will soon be moved from Baltimore to Norfolk, Va., for temporary repairs.

It is still unknown when the ship will depart, but it could be early next week, Coast Guard Cmdr. Baxter Smoak told The Baltimore Sun on Thursday. According to the newspaper report, the move will be complicated by the fact that the giant containership does not have either of its two anchors

The Dali will sail to Norfok 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,” reports the newspaper Another vessel from salvor Resolve Marine will also escort the Dali.

Smoak told The Baltimore Sun that the Resolve vessel will be “another set of eyes to ensure that nothing falls off of the vessel.If something were to fall off the vessel, there’s someone there to immediately respond, mark it and recover it.”