CONTAINERSHIP Dali’s owners Grace Ocean and managers Synergy Marine are the target of still more legal claims over the vessel’s March allision with and destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Late last week the State of Maryland filed a 56-page statement of claim against both companies in the federal court, blaming the “entirely preventable” collapse of the bridge on their failure to take necessary precautions when the ship sailed on the night of 26 March.
The attorney general’s office said the collision was due to the “mismanagement, disinterest, and/or incompetency” of the companies, citing a malfunction in the Dali’s power backup system, the crews’ inability to restore power to the ship, and other faults.
Grace Ocean and Synergy have sought top cap their liabilities at just US$43.67 million but the attorney general, Anthony Brown, is seeking seek a far higher figure in damages. Reconstruction of the bridge alone is expected to cost more than $1 billion.
“It is our goal to break through this limitation of liability. We will not allow Marylanders to be left with the bill for the gross negligence, mismanagement and incompetence that caused this harm,” Mr Brown said.
In a similar vein, late last week a coalition of businesses filed a class action in the Maryland District Court against Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, seeking millions in damages for loss of business and economic harm. The plaintiffs claimed the defendants allowed the ship to sail despite knowing it was unseaworthy, prioritising on-time cargo delivery and financial gain over safety and potential dangers.
The latest suits follow the US Justice Department’s pursuit of US$103 million in damages, accusing the companies of sending “an ill-prepared crew on an abjectly unseaworthy vessel to navigate the United States’ waterways.”
