Maryland files lawsuit against Dali’s owners

First published Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024 in the Dundalk Eagle.

Maryland wants the money it’s spending to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the Dali crashed into it back.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced a lawsuit against the companies who own and operate the Dali, the ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, at a press conference Tuesday.

Maryland says the ship experienced two power failures “in quick succession” on March 25, the day before crashing into the bridge because of a “longstanding vibration problem” that caused nuts and bolts to literally fall off. The problem wasn’t repaired by the time the ship set sail again the next day, March 26, and the ship did not report the problems to the U.S. Coast Guard, Maryland says. 

The ship briefly regained power, according to the state, but lost it again because the ship manager, Synergy Marine Private Ltd., and the ship owner, Grace Ocean Ltd., “recklessly” changed the fuel supply so two generators ran on the wrong fuel pump, an electric flushing pump rather than the diesel engine. That turned the ship into what Brown called a “dark missile” around 1:25 a.m., unable to steer clear of the bridge. 

The ship crashed into the bridge, releasing a “currently unquantified” amount of oil and hazardous substances and at least two containers — plus more than 50,000 tons of the bridge’s concrete, iron and rebar.

Maryland wants the two companies to pay not only the cost of rebuilding the bridge, but all the costs associated with the vessel’s salvage, benefits paid to workers and businesses, lost toll revenues, lost taxes, lawyer’s fees, damage to the environment, wear on the infrastructure and “other forms of economic loss” because of the bridge’s collapse.

The two companies responsible for the ship, Synergy Marine Private Ltd. and Grace Ocean Ltd., filed a petition in a federal court on April Fools’ Day, less than a week after the ship crashed into the bridge, to limit the amount they pay to about $43.7 million.

“The Casualty,” the court petition read, “was not due to any fault, neglect, or want of care on the part of Petitioners, the Vessel, or any persons or entities for whose acts Petitioners may be responsible.”

An 1851 law allows ship owners to limit the amount they have to pay for damage to what the ship and its cargo was worth, minus expenses. The two companies estimated that the ship was worth $90 million, and repairing and salvaging the vessel would cost just under half of what the ship was worth.

Maryland wants the court to throw out the companies’ claim because of the companies’ “reckless” actions in ignoring the Dali’s warning signs and increase how much the ship was worth. It also hopes to get the case transferred to a different court because the United States District Court for the District of Maryland “lacks subject matter jurisdiction.”

Maryland’s motion in court follows tight on the heals of a federal lawsuit against the two companies and a lawsuit on behalf of the six workers killed when the bridge collapsed.

Brown said a dollar amount would be quantified later, but emphasized that no amount of money could truly make up for the tragedy. 

Even if the lawsuit is successful, it will take a long time to for the companies to cough up the money. Brown said the bridge will likely be rebuilt — which Maryland officials estimate will be in 2028 — before the two companies pay Maryland.

What’s certain is that taxpayers are footing the bill in the meantime. Maryland officials have estimated that the rebuild will cost between $1.7 and $1.9 billion.

President Joe Biden has pledged that the federal government will foot the bill for the rebuild, but that still needs to pass through Congress — which, a reporter noted at the press conference, can barely agree on a budget to keep the government running.

Still, Brown said it was an important step.

“Taxpayers will not bear the burden of the cost of recovering from the damage and the destruction done by the owners and the operators of the Dali,” he said.