Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Group are facing a $100-million lawsuit from the Department of Justice, after their ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, causing a large portion of it to collapse into the Patapsco River. The companies previously sought to limit their liability for the incident to $44 million. (AFRO Photo/James Fields)
By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the Dali, the massive container ship that struck and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26. The civil action came on Sept. 18 against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Group, both based in Singapore.
The DOJ is seeking more than $100 million for the disaster, which resulted in the death of six construction workers and significant disruption to economic activity.
“This tragedy was entirely avoidable. The electrical and mechanical systems were improperly maintained and configured in a way that violated safety regulations and norms for international shipping,” stated the DOJ in the suit. “These problems precipitated a power loss and then a cascading series of failures that culminated in the allision.”
A June National Transportation Safety Board report revealed that the Dali experienced multiple blackouts before striking the Key Bridge. The board later determined the outages were likely caused by a loose electrical cable.
The DOJ said the Dali’s “unseaworthy” condition prevented it from avoiding or moderating the collision. The bridge collapse caused the Port of Baltimore, the United States’ leading port for automobiles, to temporarily close. The port did not return to full operation until June 10.
After the catastrophe, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Group moved to limit their liability to $44 million for the incident. The DOJ asked the court to deny this request and demand that the defendants pay punitive damages.
“Other vessel owners and operators must be deterred from engaging in such reckless and exceedingly harmful behavior in the United States’ navigable water,” stated the DOJ in the suit, adding the owners and operators of the Dali “need to be deterred because they continue to operate their vessels, including a sister ship to the Dali, in U.S. waters and benefit economically from those activities.”
