Baltimore bridge collapse: 'Completely ridiculous comic', say netizens as they slam racist cartoon on Dali's Indian crew

Economist Sanjeev Sanyal on Wednesday condemned a racist cartoon made by Foxford Comics, a US-based webcomic known for making politically incorrect cartoons. The cartoon targeted Indian crew members onboard the ill-fated 'DALI' container ship that crashed with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in US' Baltimore. 

The cartoon shows the Indian crew members in brownface standing inside the ship's control room in dirty water. The crew members are seen wearing dhotis and look aghast as the ship is about to collide with the bridge.

Foxford Comics shared the cartoon on X (formerly Twitter) with the comment: "Last known recording from inside the Dali moments before impact."

While sharing the cartoon, Sanyal said that the ship would have had a local pilot at the time of the incident. He added that the crew warned the authorities, which is why casualties were relatively few for a disaster like the Baltimore bridge collapse.

"At the time that the ship hit the bridge, it would have had a local pilot. In any case, the crew had warned the authorities which is why the casualties were relatively few (for such a disaster). But, hey, why give up a chance to do racist cartoons," Sanyal said in a post on X. 

Social media reactions on the racist cartoon

Sanyal, however, was not the only one who found the cartoon to be in poor taste. Twitter users condemned Foxford for its utterly racist comic during a time of crisis. 

A user replied to Sanyal's post and said: "Why aren't you guys doing something about this? I mean, racism against Indians has skyrocketed recently."

Another user said: "Do these people know that mostly cargo ships have crews majorly from India and Philippines, I doubt no. They wouldn't make such racist comments otherwise."

"It's shameful that people are mocking Indian crew for the tragic incident... Meanwhile the governor himself praised the crew (sic)," another user said. 

"Racist racist everywhere. Well you can't blame them. They are just jealous and spiteful. Can't fathom the fact that India and Indians are progressing. Well, keep coping," a user said.

"In very bad taste! Also looks racist and bigoted. Some facts: Local Baltimore pilots were navigating the ship; Indians were smart to alert/SoS local authorities to stop vehicular traffic on the bridge, saving so many lives!! Now this... (sic)," another user said. 

"Ships are piloted in harbor by a harbor employee. The ship was piloted by an American from Baltimore. What a completely ridiculous comic," a user noted. 

Indian crew on 'DALI' ship

A Singapore-flagged container ship, the 'DALI', collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing multiple vehicles to fall into the Patapsco River. The 22-member crew, all of whom were Indian, were confirmed safe by vessel management company, Synergy Marine Group. 

The ship, registered under Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, was on its way to Colombo, Sri Lanka from Baltimore. The collision occurred on 26th March at approximately 1:30 am local time while under pilotage with two pilots onboard. 

According to videos on microblogging site X, the ship hit the bridge, causing a fire before sinking. Maryland Governor Wes Moore lauded the Indian crew as 'heroes' for their quick warning prior to the collision, which reportedly saved many lives. 

As of now, six people from a construction crew working on the bridge are missing, with two people rescued. A search operation is underway. A CNN report suggests that power issues were reported by the ship's crew before the collision. 

As a result of the incident, all lanes on I-695 Key Bridge were closed and traffic was diverted. The port is known to be the busiest in the US for car shipments, having managed over 750,000 vehicles in 2022.