Baltimore says Dali's owner knew ship was 'unseaworthy' before collapse

The owner and operators of the Dali container ship that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last month knowingly allowed an “unseaworthy” vessel to leave port and are directly responsible for the accident, the city of Baltimore said in a pair of court documents presented. this week.

The documents were filed in response to a petition by the ship’s owner and its management company seeking to limit their financial liability for the March 26 accident; They claimed they were not to blame. But the city alleged that the parties knew that the Dali was not seaworthy because she had experienced a power supply problem hours before leaving Baltimore Harbor early that morning.

Instead of fixing the problem, the city said, those responsible for the ship virtually ignored it before leaving port en route to Sri Lanka. Minutes later, the Dali lost power and crashed into the bridge, “causing the immediate collapse of the bridge, killing at least six people, destroying Baltimore property and crippling the region’s main economic engine,” the city said in a statement. one of your documents. .

“None of this should have happened,” the city added.

The city’s claim referenced an April 15 Associated Press report that cited an anonymous source as saying alarms had sounded in some of the ship’s refrigerated containers before it left port, indicating a power supply. inconsistent.

Neither the ship’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Limited, nor its manager, Synergy Marine Private Limited, should be able to limit their liability in the case, the city claims, because they failed to properly train and supervise the crew, follow safety standards, and procedures. of work and operational conditions, and did not adequately maintain, equip and inspect the vessel.

The accident was a direct result of the “carelessness, negligence, gross negligence and recklessness of the owner and operators, and as a result of the vessel’s unseaworthiness,” the city said.

Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, declined to comment on the city’s allegations, citing pending litigation and ongoing government investigations into the cause of the accident.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard are still trying to determine the cause of the Dali outage. They recovered documents and interviewed the crew, as well as other people who witnessed or were involved in the accident. The FBI also launched a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash, the agency confirmed on April 15, the same day its agents boarded the ship.

It could be months – if not years – before the agencies publish their findings.

Read the research:How many ships crash into bridges and lose power each year? The data shows discordant numbers on the rise.

The Singapore-based owner and manager of the Dali had filed a joint petition in the US District Court of Maryland earlier this month, claiming that the accident “was not due to any fault, negligence or lack of attention” on your part.

Although Grace Ocean owns the 985-foot container ship, Synergy Marine was responsible for its crew and maintenance and had “substantial control” over the vessel at all times, according to the petition.

Both entities jointly asked the judge to limit their liability for the accident to $43.7 million – the equivalent of the total value of the ship and its freight, less the cost of repairs and salvage – in accordance with the Limitation of Liability Act. Liability of 1851. The law allows the owner of a ship to limit his liability to the value of the ship and its cargo when the losses were the result of a situation beyond his control.

Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine allege that the accident was, in fact, due to circumstances beyond their control. The city of Baltimore claims otherwise.

Claims from the accident are likely to exceed several billion dollars and will include the costs of replacing the bridge, diverting traffic in the interim, cleaning up the Patapsco River and recovering lost revenue associated with disruptions at the Port of Baltimore. That does not include any claims that may be brought by the families of the six construction workers who died after they were knocked off the bridge when it collapsed.

“It may take years for him to fully recover,” the city said in its court filing.

The city has asked the court for a jury trial and seeks to recover from the companies the full amount of damages it proves in court, along with all court costs and attorney fees.

“As the mayor stated in his announcement last week, the city is pursuing legal claims against those responsible for the Key Bridge disaster to ensure that the city, its residents and its businesses receive adequate compensation for their losses,” the chief said. Sara Gross. the head of Baltimore’s Affirmative Litigation Division said in a brief statement emailed to USA TODAY on Tuesday.

Gross declined to comment further, citing active litigation.

Emily Le Coz is a reporter on USA TODAY’s investigative team. Contact her at [email protected] or @emily_lecoz.