The federal government is seeking more than $100 million from the owner and operator of the container ship M/V Dali to recover losses and cleanup costs stemming from the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
The civil suit, filed by the Department of Justice in the United States District Court in Maryland, accuses Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Private Ltd. of failing to resolve known problems with the Dali’s mechanical and electrical systems prior to the ship’s departure from the port of Baltimore en route to Sri Lanka. Two successive power outages occurred as the Dali navigated the Fort McHenry Channel of the Patapsco River, causing the vessel to drift into a bridge support pylon, collapsing six spans to collapse in the water and across the Dalí’s bow.
Six construction workers doing concrete maintenance on the main span were killed in the collapse, which also blocked access to and from the Port of Baltimore and cut a key interstate transportation route through the city.
The DOJ filing is part of a legal action filed in April by Grace Ocean and Synergy, which have denied that they or the ship had any responsibility for hitting the key bridge. The two Singapore-based companies are seeking to limit their liability for the incident to no more than $43.6 million. The lawsuit cites a mid-1800s maritime law that allows a shipowner to limit the total amount of his liability to no more than the value of the ship and its cargo, less salvage costs.
In response, the federal government says they own the costs incurred by the U.S. Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies during the 10-week effort to clean up the wreckage and Dalí himself to reopen the deep draft channel. The effort also created several temporary channels around the collapse site. The claim does not cover post-collapse costs incurred by the state of Maryland, the city of Baltimore or the victims’ families. It also doesn’t cover any costs associated with rebuilding the Key Bridge, a four-year, $1.2 billion project slated to begin next year.
Although the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation has yet to determine an official cause of the incident, the agency’s preliminary report found that the Dali’s power outages were “mechanically different” from the two that s ‘had occurred the previous day when crew members were performing routine engine maintenance in preparation for their trip.
The DOJ filing alleges that instead of taking the necessary precautions to fully address the heavy vibrations previously reported to disrupt Dali’s high-voltage system, Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine “appeared for jury duty” the ship’s mechanical and electrical systems. The submission describes measures such as retrofitting a high-voltage primary step-down transformer with anti-vibration braces, “one of which had cracked over time, been repaired with welds and cracked again” . Another “improvised attempt to limit vibrations” is described as a metal load hook embedded between the transformer and a nearby steel beam.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said in a statement issued by the DOJ that the actions of Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine were taken “out of negligence, mismanagement and, at times, a desire to cut costs.” and that the electrical and electrical services of Dali. The mechanical systems were configured “in a way that prevented these systems from being able to quickly restore propulsion and steering after a power outage.”
As a result, the DOJ’s lawsuit specifically states that Dalí’s propeller, rudder, anchor and bow thruster were not available “when they were needed to prevent or even mitigate this disaster.”
A criminal investigation launched in April by the Federal Bureau of Investigation is also conducting a criminal investigation into the incident. No charges have been brought against the companies or any of the crew members, most of whom have been able to return home to India and Sri Lanka.
