Posted on 09/24/24
| News Source: WMAR2NEWS
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 24, 2024 - Tuesday marks the deadline set by a federal district court judge for all claims to be filed related to the Key Bridge collapse.
The State of Maryland announced plans to sue the ship's owners and operators just in time, claiming their mismanagement caused the crash leaving six construction workers dead.
It's the latest in a slew of lawsuits against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., who've denied any wrongdoing. They've asked the judge overseeing the litigation to either fully exonerate them or cap liability at $43 million, for which they now claim the ship's worth after damages and losses.
Last week the U.S. Department of Justice petitioned the court to reject the proposal and fully hold the companies accountable for all damages.
In their motion, U.S. Attorneys argued the DALI was unseaworthy and staffed with an ill-prepared crew.
More specifically federal investigators allege the ship's "electrical and mechanical systems were improperly maintained and configured in a way that violated safety regulations."
Despite being aware of the issues, officials say the DALI's owners and operators ignored repeated signs.
In fact, they accuse them of "jury-rigging" the ship especially the "transformer and its circuity and breakers which had long suffered the effects of heavy vibrations, a well-known cause of transformer and electrical failure."
Investigators believe these failures contributed to multiple power outages leading to the crash.
In Maryland's case, they owned and operated the Key Bridge.
When the bridge fell the Port of Baltimore, which the state also runs, was forced to shut down for months, costing approximately $3 million in lost revenue.
Not to mention the lost toll fees affiliated with the bridge.
Among their demands, Maryland is seeking to have the DALI owners pay for a replacement bridge.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has already pledged to fully fund the rebuild, hence why the DOJ is going after the DALI to recoup costs associated with the bridge.
Maryland has already collected a $350 million dollar insurance payout related to the crash.
The reconstruction process is already underway, with the state awarding Kiewit Infrastructure Co. a $73 million contract to design a new bridge.
Currently the total cost of a new bridge is projected to cost $1.7 billion.
If all goes according to plan, officials say a new bridge could be up by Fall 2028.
Lawsuits filed by the DOJ and Maryland are just the tip of the iceberg facing DALI ownership.
The employer of the six workers killed in the crash have also sued, as have their families.
Baltimore City filed their own as well, even though the Key Bridge and Port of Baltimore are each owned and operated by the State.
Civil court may not be the only path all this leads to, because the FBI is currently leading a criminal investigation into the crash.
The DALI has since set sail for China, but some crew members aboard the ship at the time have been ordered to stay in Maryland until the investigation wraps.
As noted in the DOJ's lawsuit, the DALI captain who sailed into Baltimore failed to notify the Coast Guard of recent vibrating and power outages, but also never told the oncoming pilot who took control of the ship upon departure from the Port.