The Justice Department is suing Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited over the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.
The Justice Department filed a $100 million lawsuit on Tuesday against the owner and operator of the Dali vessel that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which subsequently collapsed.
The civil claim, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, targets Singaporean corporations Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, which owned and operated the Dali container ship.
“The ship’s owner and manager – who now ask the Court to limit their liability to less than $44 million – sent an ill-prepared crew on an abjectly unseaworthy vessel to navigate the United States’ waterways”, the lawsuit says. “They did so to reap the benefit of conducting business in American ports. Yet they cut corners in ways that risked lives and infrastructure. Those responsible for the vessel must be held fully accountable for the catastrophic harm they caused, and punitive damages should be imposed to deter such misconduct.”
The Dali left the Port of Baltimore in the early morning hours of March 26 bound for Sri Lanka. The lawsuit summarizes how the ship lost power, regained power, then lost it a second time while maneuvering through Fort McHenry Channel. The vessel then struck the Key Bridge, causing its collapse. Six people were killed.
The lawsuit says the incident brought all shipping in and out of the port to a standstill and cut off a critical highway route.
