[Freight Weekly] 'An entirely avoidable catastrophe' - DOJ Sues in Ongoing Key Bridge Aftermath

👩‍⚖️US Justice Department sues owner and operator of MV Dali in Key Bridge case👩‍⚖️

About a day ago, the Justice Department announced that it had filed a complaint of about $100 million in damages against the owner and operator of the MV Dali. The Dali collided in March with the Francis Scott Key Bridge killing several people, causing the bridge to collapse, and completely halting traffic to the Port of Baltimore, in Maryland. More here:

• Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, attorneys for the DOJ allege that Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, both companies based in Singapore that owned and operated the Dali, violated federal law and are seeking restitution in a civil claim. The sum is $100 mil.

• Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press release announcing the action, “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.”

• The U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division added in the same press statement, “This was an entirely avoidable catastrophe, resulting from a series of eminently foreseeable errors made by the owner and operator of the Dali.”

• The suit seeks to recover over $100 million for the U.S. in costs related to the disaster response and clearing debris to reopen the port, according to the suit.

• The owner and operator of the Dali seeks to cap liability at $44 million.

• In addition to the DOJ action, the families of construction workers killed by the collapse also sued Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine in federal district court.

• Six construction workers were killed during the Key Bridge collapse. After the collapse, the Maryland economy suffered in the billions due to the loss of trade.

Bottom line: Litigation will be arduous and it is expected that the court will not be kind to Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine. It would be ideal to reach settlements but this is also likely not to happen due to the millions, if not billions, of dollars in economic and tax funds.

MORE: “Why so little oversight of ‘unseaworthy’ Dali?” - The Baltimore Sun editorial

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