In a petition sent to a judge on Tuesday, the city argues that allowing the foreign crew of the Dali to leave the country could interfere with two investigations being led by the FBI and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The sailors, who are from India and Sri Lanka, have been trapped aboard the ship since it hit the bridge on 26 March, killing six construction workers on the bridge.
According to court documents, the city learned on Tuesday from the ship’s owners that eight of the sailors were planning to leave the US as early as Thursday.
Lawyers for the city and another party filing suit against the ship owners are asking the judge to convene an emergency hearing to decide the issue.
“The crew consists entirely of foreign nationals who, of course, have critical knowledge and information about the events giving rise to this litigation,” wrote Adam Levitt, a lawyer for the city of Baltimore.
I didn’t realize that being party to a civil suit meant being indefinitely detained in a foreign country. /s
Surely you wouldn’t expect the US to allow civilian sailors from a domestic ship to be detained in another country with no timeline for repatriation. There would be something done.
Many people have no trouble attending virtual depositions or flying to attend trial. Indefinite detention (again, for a civil suit) is a pretty big ask just so some insurance/city investigators and lawyers can have in-person access.