BALTIMORE, MD — The crew of the Dali were heading to Sri Lanka before they crashed into the Key Bridge, according to Andy Middleton, director of the Apostleship of the Sea of the United States of America (AOS-USA), a Catholic ministry that helps crew members as they dock at the Port of Baltimore.
Over the weekend, Middleton said he and other volunteers took the crew to Walmart to stock up on supplies before setting off on what was to be a 28-day voyage.
“They were going down and around South Africa to avoid the Red Sea and the Houthis,” he told the Baltimore Sun. The crew was “taking a longer route” to avoid a potential attack by Houthi rebels, who’ve been attacking ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s bombing in Gaza.
Middleton and other first responders remain on the ground to assist as needed.
“I’m sure there will be some who are shaken by it,” he explained. “You never know how you’re going to react to something. No one ever thinks you’re going to set sail and hit a bridge and it’s going to collapse.”
