Maryland on Tuesday introduced a lawsuit towards the house owners and managers of the Dali, the ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this 12 months, killing six staff and briefly shutting down one of many busiest ports within the nation.
In keeping with a press launch from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Lawyer Common Anthony G. Brown, the state is suing the Dali proprietor, Grace Ocean, and supervisor, Synergy Marine. Maryland is asking the courtroom to award damages for a number of prices, together with changing the bridge, environmental contamination, emergency response and advantages for affected staff.
“For the previous six months, and into the foreseeable future, Marylanders have had and can proceed to shoulder the prices and burden brought on by the misconduct of Grace Ocean Personal Restricted and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd,” Brown mentioned in an announcement.
“We have grieved the loss of six lives and mourned alongside their families. We have endured increased traffic and altered work commutes, degrading even the quality of the air we breathe. Our state has lost valuable tax and toll revenues, and Maryland’s economy has been disrupted,” he added.
“Maryland will rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, however Marylanders mustn’t should pay for the DALI proprietor’s and supervisor’s negligence and incompetence,” he added.
Darrell Wilson, a spokesperson for Synergy and Grace Ocean, advised The Hill in an announcement that the lawsuit was “anticipated” given at the moment’s deadline for claims towards the Dali.
He added that the “owner and manager will have no further comment on the merits of any claim at this time, but we do look forward to our day in court to set the record straight.”
The press launch famous that Maryland’s investigation discovered that the crash was “entirely preventable,” including that the Dali had two energy failures the day earlier than. The discharge mentioned that the ship’s proprietor and operator had “failed to diagnose or correct these failures prior to leaving its berth and neglected to report them to the two pilots who boarded the ship to guide its departure from the port.”
“This catastrophe has caused wide-ranging, multifaceted, and significant harms to the State and its residents,” the press launch mentioned.
“Marylanders rallied and moved in partnership to take daring motion following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. However the presence of motion does not imply the absence of accountability. We will — and we’ll — pursue each on the similar time,” Moore mentioned within the press launch.
The lawsuit comes after an announcement from the Division of Justice (DOJ) that it will be pursuing its personal civil negligence case towards the proprietor and operator of the Dali, arguing that the crash was “unavoidable” and brought on by improper upkeep and violations of security laws.
It additionally mentioned ought to the proprietor and supervisor ought to cowl $100 million in cleanup prices and extra penalties.
After the collapse, the businesses filed a request for restricted legal responsibility, which would scale back their monetary obligations.
