Explained | Baltimore bridge collapse: Why the 20 Indians on board cargo ship have been unable to leave

In the days following the deadly accident, US authorities began interviewing personnel, including the Indian crew members, on board the the cargo ship. Only once the investigation is complete will their fate be determined.

The 21-strong crew of the cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26 remain on board, and have been asked to cooperate with agencies investigating the reasons into and circumstances revolving the accident that killed six construction crew workers. The crew on board the 984-foot ship ‘Dali’ included 20 Indians and one Sri Lankan.

Last month, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into the bridge collapse. The Washington Post reported that the FBI was "focusing on the massive container ship that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last month — a probe that will look at least in part at whether the crew left the port knowing the vessel had serious systems problems”.

Executive Director of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Centre The Rev. Joshua Messick told news agency PTI that he is working with all of the relevant organisations to make sure the mostly-Indian crew has what they need and that their rights are being upheld.

“They are well cared for - with the sole exception that their cellphones were seized as part of the FBI’s investigation, and those have not been returned,” he said.

Members of the crew have been unable to leave the ship due to visa restrictions and probes by US agencies.

Messick said he is in “contact with the crew to purchase some SIM cards for them and to plan trips ashore when they can have shore leave”.

Speaking with news agency IANS, Jim Lawrence, a spokesperson for the Singapore-flagged Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd., said that the Indian crew members on board are "in good spirits".

"In addition to performing normal duties on board the ship, they are also assisting with the investigations and with the ongoing salvage work," Lawrence was quoted as saying.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), another federal investigation agency investigating the crash, said in a preliminary report that about 10 hours before leaving Baltimore, the Dali experienced a blackout during in-port maintenance, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The NTSB said the cargo ship had other outages including about four minutes before the crash when electrical breakers unexpectedly tripped, causing a loss of power to all shipboard lighting and most equipment when it was 0.6 mile (1 km) from the bridge. The Dali crew restored power, but another blackout occurred 0.2 mile from the bridge, which stopped all three steering pumps. The crew was unable to move the rudder to steer.

In the days following the accident, US authorities began interviewing personnel, including the Indian crew members, on board the Dali. Only once the investigation is complete will their fate be determined.

With inputs from PTI, Reuters