Justice Department files $100 million lawsuit against owner of ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Key Bridge

 

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the owner and operator of the container crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, seeking $100 million in damages for the structure’s collapse, which killed six construction workers and led to massive economic losses.

In a call with reporters, Justice Department officials said the Singapore-based companies, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, were “well aware” of the problems on the ship, the Dali, which they could cause power outages before the accident. . The massive building hit one of the bridge’s columns in the early hours of March 26 after losing power, causing a section of the structure to collapse into the water.

“The civil claims filed today allege that the collision was caused by a series of catastrophic failures aboard the Dali in the minutes before impact, all as a result of the alleged negligence,” said the US attorney. United Erek Barron for the District of Maryland. call

The Dali container is seen in the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge nearly a week after it hit a structural pier that caused the subsequent bridge to collapse, on April 1, 2024.

Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Justice Department officials said the US government has spent more than $100 million to respond to the disaster and reopen the Port of Baltimore. The state of Maryland, officials said, may seek damages for the bridge’s reconstruction.

The lawsuit was filed in the case in the federal district court in Maryland that began shortly after the tragedy, when Grace Ocean Private Limited filed a motion to limit its legal liability for the disaster. On Tuesday, the families of three of the construction workers who died on March 26 announced that they will seek to keep the Singapore-based company legally, a request that, if granted, could allow them to receive monetary compensation .

In an exclusive television interview with CBS News this week, Maria del Carmen Castellon, who lost her husband, Miguel Luna, when the bridge collapsed, said that “justice” for her would be to have him back in her life. She called her husband and the workers who died that day “heroes”.

“They were here”, he noted, “so this country can have better roads. And those bridges, to have better conditions”.

Camilo Montoya-Galvez

Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the immigration reporter at CBS News. Based in Washington, he covers politics and immigration policy.