City of Baltimore Makes Huge Allegation About Ship That Brought Down Bridge

Baltimore has initiated legal action against two companies, alleging their failure to adequately staff and maintain a container ship led to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month.

The bridge collapse occurred on March 26 when the MV Dali, registered in Singapore, departed Baltimore Harbor and collided with one of the bridge's support piers. Tragically, four individuals lost their lives, and the bodies of two presumed victims remain unrecovered.

In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore's mayor’s office and city council named Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, the owner of the Dali, and Grace Ocean Pte. Ltd, its operator, both headquartered in Singapore, as defendants.

The city's 16-page filing alleges negligence and possible criminal conduct by the companies leading up to the disaster. Despite alarms indicating power supply inconsistencies on the Dali before departure, the vessel sailed from port in an unseaworthy state, the lawsuit contends.

The suit also highlights favorable weather conditions and the absence of previous incidents involving ships passing under the bridge, which had stood for five decades without such a catastrophic event. The defendants are accused of disregarding the vessel's unseaworthiness and failing in its maintenance and repairs.

Baltimore officials attribute the disaster to the companies’ negligence, recklessness, and the incompetence of the ship’s crew. They assert that the companies’ actions were grossly negligent and potentially criminal, and they seek economic compensation, damages for the collision, legal fees, and unspecified punitive damages.

While Baltimore pursues legal action, the FBI has announced a criminal investigation into the Key Bridge collapse.