The owner and manager of the massive container ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month should be held fully responsible for the deadly wreck, according to court documents filed Monday on behalf of Baltimore’s mayor and City Council.
Two companies filed a petition shortly after the March 26 sinking, they asked the court to limit their liability under the pre-Civil War provisions of the 1851 Naval Act, a common but important procedure in such cases. A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who is responsible and how much they owe for what could become one of the costliest maritime disasters in history.
Singaporean company Grace Ocean Private Ltd. owns the Dali ship, which veered off course and crashed into a bridge. The vessel’s operator is Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., also based in Singapore.
In a statement Monday, the city’s lawyers accused them of negligence, arguing that the companies should have, among other things, realized that the Dali was unseaworthy and manned the vessel with a competent crew.
A spokesman for the companies said Monday it would be inappropriate to comment on the pending litigation.
The ship was bound for Sri Lanka when, shortly after leaving Baltimore, it lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s supports, collapsing the span and sending six members of a road work crew to their deaths.
“For more than four decades, cargo ships have made thousands of trips under the Key Bridge each year without incident,” the city’s complaint states. “There was nothing in the events of March 26, 2024 that would have changed that.”
FBI agents boarded the stranded ship last week as part of a criminal investigation. A separate federal investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board will include an investigation into whether the ship was subjected to eating problems before embarking on the trip, officials said. This investigation will mainly focus on Dali’s electrical system.
In their previous motion, Grace Ocean and Synergy sought to limit their liability to approximately $43.6 million. The petition estimates that the vessel itself is valued at $90 million, and that it owes more than $1.1 million in freight debt. The estimate also subtracted two major costs: at least $28 million for renovations and at least $19.5 million for disposal.
Grace Ocean also recently initiated a process requiring owners of cargo on board to cover a portion of the salvage costs. The company did declaration of “general average”allowing a third-party regulator to determine how much each participant should contribute.
Baltimore leaders say the ship’s owner and manager should be held accountable for their role in the disaster, which has halted much shipping traffic through the Port of Baltimore and disrupted a critical East Coast cargo route. The economic impact could be devastating for the Baltimore region, the document says.
“Plaintiffs’ negligence resulted in them destroying the Key Bridge and single-handedly shutting down the Port of Baltimore, a source of jobs, municipal revenue and a considerable amount of pride for the City of Baltimore and its residents,” the lawyers wrote.
Lawyers representing collapse victims and their families also vowed to hold the companies accountable and oppose their request to limit liability.
Meanwhile, rescue crews are working to remove thousands of tons of collapsed steel and concrete from the Patapsco River. They have opened three temporary channels to allow some ships to pass through the area, but the port’s main shipping channel is expected to remain closed for several more weeks.