If you aren’t aware of this yet, well, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) kicked off a lawsuit against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited for over $100 million in September 2024. The two companies own and the cargo ship Dali was implicated in the unfortunate accident that led to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, you know? The DOJ through the law holds the companies liable for the damages including the loss of six workers’ lives and disruption to a major shipping route. All in all, the lawsuit accused the companies of negligence in the upkeep of the vessel, which directly led to this disaster.
What Really Happened?
On March 26, 2024, the Dali pretty much initiated its journey by starting from the Port of Baltimore headed to Sri Lanka. Today it came across the Fort McHenry Channel and the ship system was virtually paralyzed; thus, it lost power, regained it somehow, and then lost it for the second time in a row. This time, such a situation got so bad that the ship rammed into a support column of the bridge, Francis Scott Key Bridge which led to it being completely broken, you know? Unfortunately, six workers were crushed under that collapse while working on the bridge. Besides, the collapse blocked a major highway, closed the Port of Baltimore, and stopped the traffic along these ways.
Lawsuit Details
The DOJ’s lawsuit includes a plea for obtaining over $100 million from Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine as costs of getting rid of the wreckage, reopening the port, and the lost stages of the bridge. The DOJ intends to apply also for punitive damages against the two companies stating that they have prioritized profit instead of safety, which is completely wrong. The lawsuit claims that the companies were well aware of the unresolved mechanical issues of the Dali ship and made sure that this ship was not sent out to do an instructional training drive which eventually led to the disaster.
Negligence and Cost-Cutting
The lawsuit against the companies focused on their apparent negligence, especially considering the known malfunctions in the ship’s power systems. It is mentioned that even though they knew about vibration problems that were likely to occur and led to the power outage, the companies depended on makeshift repairs instead of proper fixes. It was this irresponsible thing that led to the total failure of critical systems like the rudder, propeller, and anchor during the power loss of the Dali, and therefore, its ability to dodge the crash was irreversibly limited.
Impact of the Bridge Collapse
The story of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse is one that has had huge repercussions both in loss of life as well as damages and the Port of Baltimore, can you even imagine that? Like, six people died, and their families are left dealing with the aftermath of the incident. The disaster also had great consequences for the city because the Port of Baltimore, which is one of the busiest ports on the East Coast, was closed. Not just that though, after the accident, the wreckage ended up blocking the shipping lane with the total of debris that had to be removed so that the port could open amounted to over 50,000 tons.
