BALTIMORE — Tuesday marks the deadline set by a federal district court judge for all claims to be filed related to the Key Bridge collapse.
The State of Maryland announced plans to sue the ship's owners and operators just in time, claiming their mismanagement caused the crash leaving six construction workers dead.
It's the latest in a slew of lawsuits against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., who've denied any wrongdoing. They've asked the judge overseeing the litigation to either fully exonerate them or cap liability at $43 million, which is their estimated value of the ship and its cargo, after damages.
Last week the U.S. Department of Justice petitioned the court to reject the proposal and fully hold the companies accountable for all damages.
In their motion, U.S. Attorneys argued the DALI was unseaworthy and staffed with an ill-prepared crew.
More specifically, federal investigators allege the ship's "electrical and mechanical systems were improperly maintained and configured in a way that violated safety regulations."
Despite being aware of the issues, officials say the DALI's owners and operators ignored repeated signs.
In fact, they accuse them of "jury-rigging" the ship especially the "transformer and its circuity and breakers which had long suffered the effects of heavy vibrations, a well-known cause of transformer and electrical failure."
Investigators believe these failures contributed to multiple power outages leading to the crash.
Maryland endured many financial losses as result of the collapse, including toll revenue.
Additionally, the state-run Port of Baltimore was forced to shut down for months costing the state approximately $3 million.
Among their demands, Maryland wants the DALI owners to pay for a replacement bridge.
"Our state has lost valuable tax and toll revenues, and Maryland’s economy has been disrupted. Maryland will rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, but Marylanders should not have to pay for the DALI owner’s and manager’s negligence and incompetence,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown.
It's unclear how a judge will rule on who recoups costs of the rebuild, considering President Joe Biden has already pledged to fully foot the bill, hence why the DOJ is going after the DALI in court.
Maryland has since collected a $350 million dollar insurance payoutrelated to the crash, with the reconstruction process underway.
The state recently awarded Kiewit Infrastructure Co. a $73 million contract to design a new bridge.
Currently the total cost of a new bridge is projected at $1.7 billion.
If all goes according to plan, a new bridge could be up by Fall 2028.
Maryland and DOJ's lawsuits are just some of the major cases facing DALI ownership.
The employer of six workers killed in the crash have also sued, as have their families.
Baltimore City filed as well, even though the Key Bridge and Port of Baltimore are each owned and operated by the State.
Civil court may not be the only path all this leads to, because the FBI is continuing to conduct a criminal investigation.
The DALI set sail for China last week, but eight crew members aboard the ship at the time of the crash are staying in Maryland until the investigation wraps.
As noted in the DOJ's lawsuit, the DALI captain who sailed into Baltimore failed to notify the oncoming pilot and Coast Guard of recent vibration issues and power outages aboard the ship, as required by federal regulations.
Thursday will be six months since the Key Bridge collapse occurred.
