Justice Department Sues for $100M the Company Whose Ship Caused Baltimore

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The Biden Justice Department has announced it’s filing a lawsuit against the owner of the ship that crashed into a major, Baltimore bridge in March, which resulted in catastrophic damage to the bridge and the deaths of six people. RedState covered the disaster:

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland collapsed after a large container ship crashed into one of its supports just before 1:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time. An unknown number of vehicles and possibly a tractor-trailer went into the Patapsco River as a result of the collapse. As of 3 AM Baltimore time, officials were searching for seven people in the water.

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The bridge collapsed on top of the ship. Cartrwright said that the US Coast Guard is “in the process of establishing contact with the vessel” to determine how many injured people are on that ship and more about what type of cargo was on the ship and any mechanical issues that might have occurred before the collision.

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During a press conference held by US Coast Guard officials it was announced that search and rescue operations have been suspended as of 7:30 PM and that the six construction workers who were on the bridge when it collapsed are presumed dead.

The New York Times is reporting that the owners of the ship that hit the bridge, the Singapore-flagged Dali, “confirmed in an emailed statement that the vessel had hit one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge around 1:30 a.m. Eastern. All crew members, including two pilots onboard, were accounted for and there were no injuries on the ship,” and that the owners say they and the vessel’s managers are cooperating with authorities.

In an update later on Mar. 26, my colleague Jennifer Van Laar wrote about a previous crash and ongoing mechanical issues with the ship:

The ship had been cited for issues with propulsion and auxiliary machinery on June 27, 2023, in Chile, as we reported earlier:

According to the report, the deficiency was described in detail as issues with “gauges, thermometers, etc.” but there was no detention resulting from this single detected deficiency. Three months later the ship was subject to a follow-up inspection by the United States Coast Guard in New York but no deficiencies were recorded.

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It’s also been learned that the Dali was involved in at least one prior accident, colliding with a shipping pier in Belgium.

That 2016 incident occurred as the Dali was leaving port in Antwerp and struck a loading pier made of stone, causing damage to the ship’s stern, according to VesselFinder.com, a site that tracks ships across the world. An investigation determined a mistake made by the ship’s master and pilot was to blame.

No one was injured in that crash, although the ship required repair and a full inspection before being returned to service. The pier – or berth – was also seriously damaged and had to be closed.

NEW: MV Dali Lost Propulsion Before Crashing Into Baltimore Bridge; Had Prior Crash in 2016

Now, the DOJ has filed suit to reclaim the cost of recovery efforts and cleaning up the damage on and below the Key Bridge:

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed suit against the owner of the container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore earlier this year, alleging that the company and those on board the ship knew about persistent faulty electrical and mechanical problems and failed to fix them.

The Justice Department is seeking $100 million in damages from Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Maritime PTE, the owners and managers of the ship, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The damages DOJ is seeking include the cost of responding to the disaster as well as for clearing the wreck and bridge debris from the Patapsco River.

The filing continued:

When the ship left the Port of Baltimore on March 26, the vessel lost and regained power several times before striking the bridge, killing six people, fouling the channel for weeks and causing significant hiccups in supply chains for industries including autos and coal.

The persistent mechanical and electrical issues identified in the suit “precipitated a power loss” that led to a series of cascading problems involving backup systems that also failed, ultimately resulting in the Dali’s collision with the bridge.

Prosecutors called the ship “unseaworthy,” and claimed that the crash was “entirely avoidable.”

Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said:

“The owner and operator of the DALI were well aware of vibration issues on the vessel that could cause a power outage. But instead of taking necessary precautions, they did the opposite

“Out of negligence, mismanagement, and, at times, a desire to cut costs, they configured the ship’s electrical and mechanical systems in a way that prevented those systems from being able to quickly restore propulsion and steering after a power outage. As a result, when the DALI lost power, a cascading set of failures led to disaster.”

This is a developing story. RedState will provide updates as they become available.

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