FACT-CHECK: The Captain of the Baltimore Cargo Ship Is Ukrainian?

This morning a horrific tragedy struck Baltimore and the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

I can’t tell you how many people have personally emailed me or posted online that they drive on that bridge every day, or used to drive on that bridge every day.

It’s absolutely chilling and horrific to think about.

What also struck me when watching the video the first time and not knowing when the ship would hit the bridge (but knowing it did) was watching each car zoom along the bridge.

One by one, you watch as they narrowly escape with their lives, likely totally oblivious to what is happening…

And then finally the last cars do not make it.

Chilling.

So I’m not here to treat this was any disrespect….

I’m also not here to find conspiracy theories…

I’m just here to report and to Fact Check things I see circulating online.

One of those things was that the Captain of the ship was Ukrainian.

True?

False?

Let’s dig into it.

It all started with this Tweet:

Wait… the captain of that ship is Ukrainian? https://t.co/wwap4dxM3q pic.twitter.com/TAzrk1FTxv

— Russian Market (@runews) March 26, 2024

Interesting.

Even so, let me make clear that it doesn’t mean the Captain did anything wrong.

To the contrary, it seems like a Mayday call was issued that likely saved many lives.

So let’s get that clear up front.

But it does appear to be true that the crew was entirely Indian, except for the Captain who appears to be Ukrainian (or perhaps the First Mate).

Of all the countries in the world, you have to admit the odds of that are quite odd.

According to the Indian Express, the crashed ship was the “DALI” with ID number 9697428:

The operators of a Singapore-flagged container ship “DALI” (IMO 9697428) lost power and issued a mayday call moments before ramming into the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, the Maryland governor Wes Moore said today. In response, the officials were able to slow the flow of traffic, preventing more vehicles from falling into the water.

Moore added that the bridge was “fully up to code” before the bridge collapse.

ANI News reports the crew was made up of 22 Indians:

Thank goodness there was no pollution!

According to VessellFinder, the Dali (9697428) is indeed the right ship and it is currently in Baltimore:

Ah, good old VessellFinder.com!

I remember all the time we spent on that website when the Evergrand got stuck.

Remember that?

Who would have ever thought I’d spend so much of my life researching cargo ships on VessellFinder.com?

Now if we go to BalticShipping.com, we can see details of the crew:

I want to reiterate there is NO evidence anyone has done anything wrong, but this website does appear to be showing two people as the Captain and First Mate.

You would think the Captain would be listed first, and perhaps he is, but his salary is reported as $,1600 USD/month while the Ukrainian is reported at $10,200 USD/month.  Perhaps one is a typo.

BalticShipping.com does show the DALI (9697428) stuck at the bridge:

BalticShipping does appear to be a legitimate and well-used website, garnering 1.212M visits over the last 3 months:

Grok reports the Captain is Amit Kumar, which I can only assume is the top man shown:

So….was the Captain of the crashed DALI ship in Baltimore Ukrainian?

We rate this NEEDS MORE INFO, as it appears to be true but it is unclear whether he is the Captain or the First Mate.