US seeks damages from ship operator in Baltimore bridge collapse
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration launched a court fight Wednesday against the owners and operators of the ship that caused the deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore earlier this year, arguing the companies ignored problems with the MV Dali’s systems that led to the crash.
The Justice Department’s filing, in an existing federal court case in Maryland, argued that both Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine PTE Ltd. cut corners with the ship — such as welding a cargo hook to a wall to tamp down on vibrations — that led to the electrical and other equipment failures in the moments before the ship hit one of the bridge supports in March.
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The claim seeks more than $100 million in costs incurred by the federal government for cleanup and recovery, plus an unspecified amount of punitive damages because the companies “sent an ill-prepared crew on an abjectly unseaworthy vessel to navigate the United States’ waterways.”
“This tragedy was entirely avoidable,” the Biden administration’s filing said, arguing that Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine should face the full costs of the collapse and cleanup.
The crash caused the collapse of the bridge, killing six construction workers and shutting the port of Baltimore’s main channel for months.
In the early morning hours of March 26, the ship underwent a “cascading series of failures” while trying to leave the port of Baltimore, the DOJ filing said. First the main electrical system failed. Then a backup system took too long to kick in, before it failed as well.
Once power was eventually restored the ship could not properly use its anchor or bow thruster, the filing said, which could have averted the collision. The ship then collided with one of the pillars of the bridge, causing a collapse within moments.
