A day after a massive container ship struck a bridge in Baltimore, US, leading it to collapse, a “racist” cartoon depicting the incident created an uproar on social media. Directed at the Indian crew members of the ship, the illustration shows unkempt men dressed only in loincloths preparing for the impending crash.
“Last known recording from inside the Dali moments before impact,” it was captioned on X. The graphic also had the audio of people swearing at each other in English but with a strong Indian accent.
The cartoon was slammed by social media users not only for its racist depiction of Indians but also for showing the crew in a poor light especially when Maryland Governor Wes Moore and even the President of the US, Joe Biden, praised them for their prompt action which led to saving countless lives.
US officials said that the ship crew had reported power issues before the collision and Maryland Governor Wes Moore said they had saved lives by their timely warning, media reports said
The 22-member crew on the Singapore-flagged container ship, which collided with a bridge in the US Baltimore city last week, causing it to collapse, were all Indians and all are safe, as per the shipping company.
“Owners and managers of the Singapore-flagged container ship ‘DALI’ (IMO 9697428) report that the vessel collided with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore whilst under pilotage with two pilots onboard, at approximately 01.30 local time on 26th March,” the Synergy Marine Group said in a statement.
“All crew members, including the two pilots, have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries. There has also been no pollution,” it said.
In total, 21 crew members were on-board the Dali at the time of the accident, which happened just minutes into the ship’s 27-day journey to Sri Lanka.
India has confirmed that 20 of them are Indian citizens. Government statistics show that 315,000 Indians are employed in the global maritime industry, about 20% of the total. Indians are second only to Filipinos in the sector.
One crew member is from Sri Lanka, according to the US Coast Guard.
The ship was bound from Baltimore to Colombo.
Whilst the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined, the ‘DALI’ has now mobilised its Qualified Individual Incident response service, it said, adding that the US Coast Guard and local officials have been notified, and the owners and managers are fully cooperating with Federal and State government agencies under an approved plan.
