After months stuck on the Dali, most crew members will finally deboard as the cargo ship prepares to leave Baltimore

Twelve weeks after the Dali cargo ship lost power and crashed into a famed Baltimore bridge, the mammoth vessel will soon leave for repairs, with only a handful of crew on board.

Twelve weeks after the Dali cargo ship lost power and crashed into a famed Baltimore bridge, the mammoth vessel will soon leave for repairs – with only a handful of crew on board.

The 20 Indians and one Sri Lankan on board have been stuck on the ship since March 26, when the 984-foot ship lost propulsion, veered off course and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge – killing six construction workers. They’ve been unable to leave for a variety of reasons.

But at a Thursday court hearing, a judge approved a deal that would allow eight of the crew members to fly home as early as this week. And on Friday, a spokesperson for the crew’s employer said federal authorities have cleared two more seamen to return home halfway around the world.

The two newly cleared crew members are both cadets who were on board as part of a training program when the tragedy unfolded, said Darrell Wilson, a spokesperson for ship manager Synergy Marine.

As for the 213-million-pound vessel, which has been docked at Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal for a month, the Dali is now tentatively scheduled to leave for Norfolk, Va., on Monday for repairs.

Four crew members will stay on board for the voyage, said the Rev. Joshua Messick, director of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center and chaplain for the Port of Baltimore.

The crew members who do not have clearance to fly home – including all the ship’s officers – must stay in the United States until litigation involving the crash is finished, which could take more than a year, Messick said Thursday.