“It was their gross negligence, including a ship—a 900-plus-ton vessel—to sea that was not seaworthy,” state Attorney General Anthony Brown said. “So, it’s no surprise that the basic claims and the facts—supporting claims are going to be the same, because we all recognize that it was Grace Ocean and Synergy Maritime that failed all of us.”
The state of Maryland has announced a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the Dali, which struck and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore earlier this year.
“Hear me loud and clear. What happened in the early morning of March 26 should never have happened,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in a news conference. “A bridge that was used by thousands of vehicles every single day should still be here right now. A key artery to the Port of Baltimore, which helped move billions of dollars of freight every single year, should still be here right now.”
“And the six victims of the collapse,” Gov. Moore said, “should all be here right now.”
According to The Associated Press, officials announced the lawsuit on Tuesday. Many of Maryland’s claims resemble those made by the federal Department of Justice, which recently filed its own complaint against the Dali’s owners.
The six victims, all maintenance workers, were killed when the Dali hit one of the bridge’s support columns, causing it tumble into the water.
Maryland, like the federal government, has since claimed that the Dali’s Singapore-based owners knew that the vessel had problems with many of its internal systems—yet chose to let it embark to the United States, presumably to bolster the defendant companies’ profits.
“It was their gross negligence, including a ship—a 900-plus-ton vessel—to sea that was not seaworthy,” state Attorney General Anthony Brown said. “So, it’s no surprise that the basic claims and the facts—supporting claims are going to be the same, because we all recognize that it was Grace Ocean and Synergy Maritime that failed all of us.”
Brown emphasized that the state is actively cooperating with, and will continue to cooperate with, other parties litigating claims against the Dali’s owners.
“The Department of Justice, you saw their complaint last week, there are some things that resemble our complaint,” Brown added. “The city of Baltimore filed earlier this year. A number of others have. We will cooperate and coordinate with all parties who are seeking recovery from the Dali.”
Maryland’s lawsuit seeks a range of damages, including punitive damages and reimbursement for the costs of cleaning up wreckage and rebuilding the bridge.
“We will not allow Marylanders to be left with the bill for the gross negligence, mismanagement and incompetence that caused this harm,” Brown said. “No one can deny that the Dali’s destruction of the Key Bridge has caused just that: tremendous pain and suffering that will continue for years.”
Sources
Key Bridge disaster was ‘entirely preventable,’ Maryland officials say in sweeping lawsuit
Maryland AG announces lawsuit against owners of Dali cargo ship
Maryland sues the owner and manager of the ship that caused the Key Bridge collapse
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