Business, Feature, Freight News, Sea

US Justice Sues Dali Owner, Operator

[ September 20, 2024   //   Gary G Burrows ]

The Justice Department filed a civil claim Sept. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Private Ltd., the Singaporean corporations that owned and operated the container ship Dali, that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The Dali departed the Port of Baltimore early morning on March 26, and the vessel lost power twice while navigating the Fort McHenry Channel, before striking the bridge. The bridge collapsed and plunged into the water below, killing six people. The Dali and bridge remnants obstructed the navigable channel and brough all shipping into and out of the Port of Baltimore until the channel was cleared by June 10 and the port reopened to commercial navigation. The loss of the 1.6-mile bridge also severed a critical highway, Interstate 695.
The Justice Department is seeking to recover US$100 million in costs the U.S. incurred in responding to the fatal disaster and clearing the wreck and bridge debris so the navigable channel could reopen.
“The Justice Department is working to ensure that the costs of clearing the channel and reopening the Port of Baltimore are borne by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
Dozens of federal, state, and local agencies removed about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and asphalt from the channel and from the Dali itself. The claim alleges that the government also cleared a series of temporary channels to relieve the bottleneck at the port and mitigate some of the economic devastation caused by the vessel, and abating the risk of oil pollution.
Rear Admiral Laura M. Dickey, Deputy for Operations Capability and Policy of the U.S. Coast Guard. “The Coast Guard quickly responded by establishing a Unified Command with federal, state, and local stakeholders to rapidly open alternative channels and restore the Port of Baltimore to full operations in just over two months.
The suit alleges that the owner and operator of the Dali “were well aware” of vibration issues on the vessel that could have caused a power outage.
“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,” said Benjamin C. Mixer, principal deputy associate attorney. “As a result, when the Dali lost power, a cascading set of failures led to disaster.”
The lawsuit specifically asserts that the propeller, rudder, anchor, or bow thruster were powerless to avert or mitigate the accident.
The Justice Department’s claim also seeks punitive damages against the Dali’s owner and operator. Justice’s claim is part of a legal action the owner and operator of the Dali initiated shortly after the tragedy, in which they seek exoneration or limitation of their liability to about US$44 million.
The Justice claim does not include any damages for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The State of Maryland built, owned, maintained and operated the bridge, and attorneys on the State’s behalf may file their own claim for those damages. Subsequently, pursuant to the governing regulation, funds recovered by the state for reconstruction of the bridge to be used to reduce the project costs paid by federal taxpayer dollars.
Attorneys from the Civil Division’s Aviation, Space & Admiralty Litigation Section and from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division represented the U.S. in the filed action.

Tags: District of Maryland, Grace Ocean Private Ltd, Synergy Marine Private Ltd