BALTIMORE, MD—The Justice Department has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the owners of the container ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this year, seeking reimbursement for the costs of clearing the wreckage and restoring shipping traffic to the Port of Baltimore.

The civil claim, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for Maryland, alleges that Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singaporean corporations that own and operate the ship, were negligent and failed to take necessary precautions to prevent the disaster.

The lawsuit says that the DALI container ship left the Port of Baltimore in March bound for Sri Lanka, but lost power and regained power, only to lose power again before striking the bridge. The crash resulted in the deaths of six people and the destruction of the bridge, which remains closed.

The lawsuit claims that the United States responded to the disaster and cleared the channel to reopen the port, but in doing so, also removed about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the ship and the channel.

The Justice Department says that the owners and operator of the DALI knew of issues with the ship’s electrical and mechanical systems and failed to take necessary precautions to mitigate the disaster.

“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,” Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said in a statement. “As a result, when the DALI lost power, a cascading set of failures led to disaster.”

The lawsuit is seeking reimbursement for the costs incurred by the United States in responding to the disaster, including the cost of clearing the bridge and removing the bridge parts from the channel.

The Justice Department has also sought punitive damages to deter the owner and operator of the DALI from sending a non-seaworthy vessel to navigate a critical waterway.

“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 to American lives and the nation’s infrastructure,” Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Chetan Patil said in a statement.

The claim on behalf of the United States 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.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

Photo via Harford County Fire & EMS on X