BALTIMORE — Baltimore City is prepping legal action against the owner and operator of the DALI container ship that crashed into the Key Bridge causing its collapse last month.
The catastrophic incident left six construction workers dead and two others injured.
It also severely impacted local workers and the economy, as operations at the Port of Baltimore remain indefinitely suspended.
Earlier this month the ship's owners and operators, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine PTE, filed a petition in federal court denying any fault or neglect.
MORE:DALI ship owners deny responsibility for Key Bridge collapse, seek limited liability
In that petition, the companies said they expected to be sued but asked a judge to cap damages at $43,670,000, which they claim is the total remaining value of the ship.
“This unthinkable tragedy has taken Marylanders from their loved ones, and risked the livelihoods of thousands of Baltimoreans who rely on the Port of Baltimore,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “We are continuing to do everything in our power to support everyone impacted here and will continue to recognize the human impact this event has had. Part of that work needs to be seeking recourse from those who may potentially be responsible, and with the ship’s owner filing a petition to limit its liability mere days after the incident, we need to act equally as quickly to protect the City’s interests.”
The City hired the law firms of DiCello Levitt and Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, out of Philadelphia to handle the litigation.
“We will bring significant economic and environmental loss claims on behalf of the City of Baltimore and its residents against the M/V Dali’s owner, charterer, manager/operator, manufacturer and others, to hold them accountable for causing one of the largest inner-city maritime disasters in U.S. history,” said DiCello Levitt Co-Founder Adam Levitt. “We need to hold these entities accountable for the emotional toll and the substantial financial losses that the City of Baltimore and its residents are facing.”
The Clerk for the U.S. District Court of Maryland ordered any and all future claims stemming from the collapse to be filed by September 24.
The Federal Government has vowed to pay for the entire reconstruction of the bridge, already fronting more than $63 million towards recovery efforts.
