Ship Crew From Baltimore Bridge Collapse Still Stuck On Board Without Their Phones

A crew of 21 men has been stuck for seven weeks aboard the cargo ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore without access to their personal phones, and without the ability to easily contact family members back home. The FBI confiscated crew members' phones following the accident that led to the deaths of six construction workers on the early morning of March 26. The Dali's crew members have yet to recover their personal phones and are also facing an uncertain future, according to the BBC. The crew member's work visas are either nearing their expiration date or will expire soon, given the long time the recovery effort has taken.

The ship's crew incurred no casualties when the Dali collided with the bridge in Baltimore, but the accident threw seven construction workers into the Patapsco River. The trauma from the fall and the onset of hypothermia from exposure to cold waters caused the deaths of six men who had been repairing potholes on the bridge when the Dali struck one of its support columns, per the Baltimore Sun. The remaining construction worker who fell into the river was discharged from the hospital in the days following the crash.

The Dali's crew was told to remain aboard the ship during the investigation of the crash, which is still ongoing. Investigators with the FBI seized the crew members' phones shortly after the collision. The crew were given replacement SIM cards along with burner phones but their private data, which includes contact info for family members and other essentials—such as banking applications—is missing from the temporary phones.

Given our reliance on modern devices, which we tend to treat like extensions of our brains and offload sensitive data onto for the sake of convenience, the ship's crew members have been left without access to family and friends for whom they lack contact info. So, it's understandable that the crew would want their phones back but it's unclear when the investigation will conclude, meaning they're stuck with the burners for now. This has put crew members in duress as they're unable to send money back home or otherwise handle their financial responsibilities while at sea.

The 21-person crew