Justice Department Sues Ship Owner, Operator Over Baltimore Bridge

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Facts

  • The US Department of Justice on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the cargo ship involved in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.[1]
  • The civil case seeks more than $100M in costs related to clearing the wreckage and reopening the Port of Baltimore, as well as punitive damages to hold the companies accountable for the disaster.[2]
  • Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private and Synergy Marine Private — the owner and operator of the vessel, respectively — are accused of negligence and mismanagement.[3]
  • The Dali container ship crashed into the bridge in March — causing it to collapse and killing six workers — after suffering a power loss. Commercial shipping traffic through the port was disrupted for several months afterwards.[4]
  • The state of Maryland could still seek damages from the shipowner to rebuild the Francis Scott Key bridge, a project which it is estimated will cost billions of dollars.[5]
  • Earlier this year, a short time after the bridge collapsed, Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine filed a legal action requesting their liability for the incident be limited to $44M — a Sept. 24 deadline is in place for any potential challenges to that cap.[6][3]

Sources: [1]United States Department of Justice, [2]Wsj, [3]Al Jazeera, [4]Voice of America, [5]USA Today and [6]Washington Examiner.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Associated Press. This tragedy was completely avoidable, and the companies responsible for it must be held accountable. Six people tragically lost their lives, and a major American port experienced a great deal of interference for several months due to the negligence of these business owners. The irresponsible decision to let a questionably sea worthy vessel with a poorly trained crew continue to sail threatened both lives and infrastructure.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Boston University. This was a tragic accident caused by multiple factors and blame cannot be solely placed on the owner and operator of one ship. The bridge lacked many structural supports that could have prevented a collapse, while the ship had passed previous inspections. Additionally, there was no back up steering, such as a tug boat escort, to help the ship out of the harbor when it lost power. Scrutiny must be broadened to other elements surrounding this disaster.

Predictions