The cargo ship Dali was “an abjectly unseaworthy vessel,” its transformer — which is integral to the ship’s electrical system — was “jury-rigged,” and its devastating collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which killed six construction workers on March 26, was “entirely avoidable,” the Department of Justice wrote in a claim filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
The civil claim against the Singaporean owner and manager of the Dali, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte. Ltd., seeks more than $100 million in damages stemming from federal cleanup and recovery efforts. It does not seek to recover the cost of rebuilding the span, which is owned by the state of Maryland. The state is expected to later file its own claim.
The Department of Justice’s account, which is based upon its own investigation, argues that the vessel’s transformer (which converts high-voltage power to lower volt-power) had “long suffered the effects of heavy vibrations” and that it had been retrofitted with braces, one of which had “cracked over time.” A “metal cargo hook” had also been “wedged” between the transformer and a steel beam “in a makeshift attempt to limit vibration,” the suit states.
The vibration problems — a “well-known cause of transformer and electrical failure” per the claim — had been previously noted by an officer and engineers, and a captain wrote that the vibrations had been “reported to Synergy, the technical manager of the vessel,” the claim states.
Evidence that the owner and manager of the ship were aware of these problems before the collapse could be crucial, said Charles Simmons, a Baltimore attorney and maritime law professor.
Shortly after the collapse, the ship’s owners sought to limit their liability to $44 million in an early April filing and, since then, several lawsuits — by the City of Baltimore, small businesses, etc. — have been filed against them. The Department of Justice’s claim, however, is the “most explosive filing, by far,” Simmons said.
If the Department of Justice can prove that the owners had “privity or knowledge” of these issues, that could result in the owners’ liability being “unlimited,” Simmons said.
“What the DOJ is pointing out is that they were having lots of problems with that transformer and it should have been apparent,” Simmons said.
After problems arose with the transformer in the early hours of March 26, the backup transformer was then unable to assist, according to the lawsuit, because a safety feature had been “recklessly disabled.” Engineers “were left struggling in the dark to manually reset the tripped circuit breakers” for the transformer, while the 984-foot, 100,000-ton ship headed for the bridge’s support pier.
“This took them a full minute, wasting critical time to regain control of the ship,” the claim said.
The lawsuit states that the Dali’s owners made consequential decisions “to save money and for their own convenience.”
“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,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
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The Department of Justice called the the vessel owner’s conduct “outrageous, grossly negligent, willful, wanton, and reckless.” It is also seeking “punitive damages” to “deter such misconduct,” although it isn’t clear how much that could result in. Generally speaking, the maximum awarded in punitive damages is no more than how much is awarded in compensatory damages. (So, in this case, punitive damages would be unlikely to exceed much more than $100 million).
“They cut corners in ways that risked lives and infrastructure,” the claim stated. “Those responsible for the vessel must be held fully accountable for the catastrophic harm they caused, and punitive damages should be imposed to deter such misconduct.”
Darrell Wilson, a spokesperson for Grace Ocean and Synergy, said in a statement: “By court order, all persons alleging claims against the owner and manager of the Dali must file their claim on or before September 24th.”
“Accordingly, the filing of today’s claim was anticipated. 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 bulk of the money the federal government is seeking to recover came from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which spent $74 million as part of the cleanup and recovery process. The Coast Guard spent $22 million, the Department of Labor spent $3.5 million, U.S. Navy spent $2 million and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spent about $850,000.
As the lawsuits pour in, the Maryland Transportation Authority continues to work toward re-opening a new span. The authority, which owns the bridge, is working with construction giant Kiewit on the bridge design, which is expected to take about a year. In the coming months, the remnants of the Key Bridge will be blasted and demolished and, in 2028, the new bridge is scheduled to open.