BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and City Council are suing the owner [Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd] and the manager [Synergy Marine Pte Ltd] of the Dali saying they should be held fully responsible for the Key Bridge collapse.
Both companies [Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine] filed a petition last month asking the Maryland courts to put a ceiling on their liability “under a pre-Civil War provision of an 1851 maritime law.”
Who’s responsible for the destruction of the Key Bridge and how big the bill will be will come down to the decision made by a Maryland Federal Court.
Based on their petition, Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine wanted to only be held responsible for $43.6 million in damages. The Dali on its own is worth $90 million.
“The ship was owed over $1.1 million in income from freight. The estimate also deducts two major expenses: at least $28 million in repair costs and at least $19.5 million in salvage costs.”
RELATED: DALI ship owners deny responsibility for Key Bridge collapse, seek limited liability
Attorneys for the city of Baltimore stated in their filing on Monday that the Dali’s owner and handler were reckless, ignoring the fact that the container ship was not ready for its intended journey. Moreover, the lawyers argued that the ship didn't have a competent crew aboard.
Their grievance goes on to say, “For more than four decades, cargo ships made thousands of trips every year under the Key Bridge without incident.” “There was nothing about March 26, 2024, that should have changed that.”
The National Transportation Safety Board says it will open an investigation to find out if the Dali had power-related issues prior to hitting the Key Bridge.
SEE ALSO: FBI searches DALI ship, launching criminal investigation into Key Bridge collapse
The wounds from the Key Bridge disaster are fresh, and its ripple effects remain to be seen in full as Baltimore’s economy is taking the biggest punch.
What is certain is that countless people who depended on Baltimore Port jobs to put food on the table are looking for answers. Baltimore leadership continues to search for ways to open channels and re-route traffic on the Patapsco River.
