“This tragedy was entirely avoidable,” the Justice Department said, if not for the defendants’ decision to place an “ill-prepared crew on an abjectly unseaworthy vessel.”
The federal Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the owner and manager of the cargo ship that collided with, and collapsed, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
According to The Associated Press, the lawsuit was filed Wednesday in a Maryland federal court.
The complain names defendants including the ship’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and its manager, Synergy Marine Group. Both companies are headquartered in Singapore.
Attorneys for the government say both companies regularly cut corners in maintaining the Dali, claiming that the vessel’s mechanical and electrical systems were clearly “jury-rigged” and incapable of withstanding prolonged use.
“This tragedy was entirely avoidable,” the Justice Department said, if not for the defendants’ decision to place an “ill-prepared crew on an abjectly unseaworthy vessel.”
The defendant companies allegedly skirted the law “to reap the benefit of conducting business in American ports. Yet they cut corners in a way that risked lives and infrastructure.”
“In sum, this accident happened because of the careless and grossly negligent decisions made by Grace Ocean and Synergy, who recklessly chose to send an unseaworthy vessel to navigate a critical waterway and ignored the risks,” U.S. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Chetan A. Patil said.
The Dali, notes The Associated Press, was departing Baltimore for Sri Lanka on March 26 when it lost power. With its crew unable to regain control over the ship’s steering system, the Dali collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing its collapse and killing six maintenance workers.
“With this civil claim, 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 taxpayers,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Darrell Wilson, acting as a spokesperson for both of the Singapore-based defendants, told The Associated Press that neither company has any comment at this time.
“The owner and manager will have no further comment on the merits of any claim at this time, but we do look forward to our day in court to set the record straight,” Wilson said in a statement.
Sources
Ship owner cut corners on repairs before deadly Baltimore bridge collapse, US says in $100M lawsuit
