Baltimore battles ship owners' effort to limit liability in bridge collapse
The owners of the Dali cargo ship were negligent and should be held fully liable for the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which killed six people, the city of Baltimore said in court filings Monday.
The owners of the Dali cargo ship were negligent and should be held fully liable for the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which killed six people, the city of Baltimore said in court filings Monday.
In response to the vessel owners’ petition filed in U.S. District Court this month seeking to limit their liability, Mayor Brandon Scott and the Baltimore City Council argued Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd. “put a clearly unseaworthy vessel into the water," and they called the companies’ actions “grossly and potentially criminally negligent.”
The wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is seen beyond the stern of the container ship Dali three weeks after the catastrophic collapse.Jerry Jackson / The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesThe city of Baltimore is demanding a jury trial, saying the companies’ effort to limit responsibility for the vessel and the cargo’s value at $43.6 million is “substantially less than the amount that will be claimed for losses and damages arising out of the Dali’s allision [collision] with the Key Bridge.”
“None of this should have happened,” the city said in court filings. “Reporting has indicated that, even before leaving port, alarms showing an inconsistent power supply on the Dali had sounded. The Dali left port anyway, despite its clearly unseaworthy condition.”
A spokesperson for the Dali's owners declined to respond to the court filings or the filings' specific allegations.
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