SINGAPORE - The two port pilots who were on board the Dali when it crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26 are locals from Baltimore, a Synergy Marine Group spokesman told The Straits Times on March 27.
Synergy, headquartered in Singapore, manages the Singapore-flagged container ship.
In a phone call, Mr Darrell Wilson said the two port pilots on board at the time of the accident are from Baltimore, and the 22 crew members are all Indian nationals.
Synergy hired and manages the crew on board the Dali, who are all accounted for and have not reported any injuries, he said.
Mr Wilson was not able to provide answers as to what will happen to the vessel moving forward, and when it can be moved from the accident site.
He added that Synergy employees are on site to assist the US authorities with their investigations, and that the company is “fully cooperative”.
The Dali – a 95,000 gross ton container vessel – collided with one of the pillars of the four-lane bridge in the eastern US port city at around 1.30am local time (1.30pm Singapore time) on March 26, causing it to collapse.
The impact caused the bridge to collapse almost immediately, sending cars and people plunging into the river’s cold waters below.
Six people – who are believed to be construction workers that were conducting repair works on the bridge – are presumed dead after emergency workers suspended search efforts.
Two other people were rescued from the river earlier, with one being in critical condition.
According to Synergy’s website, the company has 28 offices, 24,000 seafarers and 668 vessels under its management globally.
American media outlet CNN reported that ships managed by Synergy have been involved in three incidents that resulted in fatalities or a missing person since 2018.
One person on board a vessel in Australia managed by Synergy was killed in an accident involving the ship’s personnel lift in 2018.
An officer on board Cezanne, another Singapore-flagged vessel registered under Synergy, went missing after likely falling overboard while inspecting or cleaning the ship in January 2019, according to a report by Singapore’s Ministry of Transport and the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau.
In 2023, a Synergy-managed tanker capsized after colliding with a ship in the Philippines, and at least one sailor was killed, said the CNN report.
Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said one body was recovered from the search, based on earlier information from CNN. The media outlet has since clarified that this is inaccurate.
