The federal Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit against the owners of the Dali, the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, leading to its collapse and the deaths of six construction workers.
During a call with reporters on Wednesday, Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer announced that the lawsuit seeks over $100 million in damages. The amount reflects the costs incurred by the federal government to clean up the accident and reopen the Fort McHenry channel and the Port of Baltimore. Mizer emphasized that the financial responsibility for the damage should rest with the ship's owners, not taxpayers.
Breakdown of cleanup, recovery, and reopening costs according to DOJ:
- $74 million - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- $22 million - U.S. Coast Guard
- $3.5 million - U.S. Department of Labor
- $2 million - U.S. Navy
- $850 thousand - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- $800 thousand - U.S. Maritime Administration
The lawsuit alleges that ship owner Grace Ocean Private Limited and its operator Synergy Marine Private Limited, were aware of vibration problems on the vessel that could lead to power failures. The Dali experienced multiple power outages shortly after leaving the port on the morning of March 26.
“Out of mismanagement, negligence, 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 steering and propulsion after a power outage,” Mizer stated.
The DOJ suit is seeking unspecified punitive damages too, which is a rare thing for the department to do according to Mizer. He told reporters that’s in hopes of sending a message to shipping companies to prevent future accidents like this from occurring.
In April, the Singapore-based company filed a petition to limit its liability to about $44 million under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851. Grace Ocean also asked the U.S District Court to impose September 24th as the deadline for any more lawsuits to be filed. Three families of the six construction workers who died in the incident announced their own lawsuits against the Dali's owners on Tuesday. Those families spoke at a press conference hosted by CASA, an immigrant rights advocacy group. During their announcement, CASA’s Executive Director Gustavo Torres criticized the ship owner’s actions beyond its court filing.
“They hired a federal lobbying firm working behind closed doors to rewrite the very law designated to protect the vulnerable to try to reduce the liability and responsibility,” he said. “And now the ship is back on the waters, sailing as if nothing happened.”
The DOJ’s lawsuit is also a response to the Dali’s legal action seeking exoneration or limitation of liability.
WYPR’S Matt Bush contributed to this story.