On Monday, the mayor and the city of Baltimore sued Grace Ocean, owner of the Dali boxship, and its operator Synergy Marine, holding them financially liable for damages caused by the ship’s collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
As is well known, the accident on March 26th led to the bridge collapsing, resulting in six people losing their lives.
In the lawsuit filed in the District Court of Maryland, the City of Baltimore claims that the collision was the direct result of negligence on the part of the ship’s owner and the company operating it. According to the prosecution, the ship had obvious power supply problems that were not investigated and resolved.
Attorneys representing those pressing charges, said that “none of this should have happened.” Reports show that, even before leaving port, alarms had sounded indicating malfunctions in the Dali’s power supply. The vessel nevertheless had left port despite the fact that it was clearly unseaworthy.
Translation by Giles Foster
