The United States (US) Justice Department has filed a US$100 million lawsuit against the owner and manager of the M/V Dali vessel, which hit and caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse in March.
The civil claim was lodged in the US District Court for the District of Maryland against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singaporean corporations that owned and operated the container ship that destroyed the Baltimore bridge.
The claim is for clean-up and recovery costs.
"The suit seeks to recover over US$100 million in costs the United States incurred in responding to the fatal disaster and for clearing the entangled wreck and bridge debris from the navigable channel so the port could reopen," the US Justice Department said.
In the early morning hours of March 26, Dali left the Port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka. While navigating through the Fort McHenry Channel, the vessel lost power, regained power, and then lost power again before striking the bridge.
The bridge collapsed and plunged into the water below, tragically killing six people.
In addition to the loss of lives, the Justice Department said the wreck of the Dali and the remnants of the bridge obstructed the navigable channel and brought all shipping into and out of the Port of Baltimore to a standstill.
"The Justice Department is committed to ensuring accountability for those responsible for the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which resulted in the tragic deaths of six people and disrupted our country’s transportation and defence infrastructure," said Merrick B. Garland, attorney-general.
"With this civil claim, the Justice Department is working to ensure that the costs of clearing the channel and reopening the Port of Baltimore are borne by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer," he added.
The US led the response efforts of dozens of federal, state, and local agencies to remove about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the channel and from the Dali itself.
While these removal operations were underway, the claim alleges that the United States also cleared a series of temporary channels to start relieving the bottleneck at the port and mitigate some of the economic devastation caused by the Dali.
By June 10, the Fort McHenry Channel had been cleared, and the Port of Baltimore was once again open for commercial navigation.
"The owner and operator of the Dali were well aware of vibration issues on the vessel that could cause a power outage. But instead of taking necessary precautions, they did the opposite," said Benjamin C. Mizer, principal deputy associate attorney general.
"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. As a result, when the Dali lost power, a cascading set of failures led to disaster," he added.
Indeed, the lawsuit specifically asserts that none of the four means that should have been available to help steer the Dali — the propeller, rudder, anchor or bow thruster — worked when they were needed to avert or even mitigate this disaster.
"This was an entirely avoidable catastrophe, resulting from a series of eminently foreseeable errors made by the owner and operator of the Dali," added Brian M. Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department's Civil Division.
"The suit seeks to recover the costs incurred by the United States in responding to this disaster, which includes removing the bridge parts from the channel and those parts that were entangled with the vessel, as well as abating the substantial risk of oil pollution," he added.
The Justice Department's claim also seeks punitive damages to deter the Dali owner and operator and others.
The Justice Department's claim is part of a legal action the Dali owner and operator initiated shortly after the tragedy. In it, they seek exoneration or limitation of their liability to approximately US$44 million.
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.