Baltimore’s mayor has threatened legal action against a wide variety of interests connected with the container ship that slammed into a bridge in the city, collapsing the span, killing six construction workers, clogging traffic and shutting a port.
Mayor Brandon Scott said the city has hired two law firms to pursue legal action against “wrongdoers” responsible for the casualty involving the 9,962-teu Dali (built 2015), and city solicitor Ebony Thompson said it is time to hold the owner, manager, charterer, manufacturer and others accountable.
Although officials mentioned none of the companies by name, the Dali is owned by Singapore’s Grace Ocean, managed by the same country’s Synergy Marine and on charter to Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk.
It was constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea, and a federal official has said the National Transportation Safety Board is working with that company after electrical systems in the container ship’s engine rooms became the focus of the accident investigation.
“This unthinkable tragedy has taken Marylanders from their loved ones, and risked the livelihoods of thousands of Baltimoreans who rely on the Port of Baltimore,” Scott said in a statement.
He said the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge has had a catastrophic impact on the city and its residents, including families of victims, business owners and dockworkers.
“We are continuing to do everything in our power to support everyone impacted here and will continue to recognise the human impact this event has had,” the mayor said.
“Part of that work needs to be seeking recourse from those who may potentially be responsible, and with the ship’s owner filing a petition to limit its liability mere days after the incident, we need to act equally as quickly to protect the city’s interests.”
A spokesman for the owner and operator said they extended their sympathies to all those affected by the incident.
He said that, out of respect for the investigation and future legal proceedings, it is not appropriate to comment at this time.
“We are closely following the situation and are cooperating with the authorities, the shipowner and the ship manager/operator on all aspects of the incident, including the investigation and information regarding the cargo that was on board the Dali,” Maersk spokesman Kevin Doell said. “Maersk was the time-charterer and as such there were no Maersk crew or vessels involved in this incident. As the investigation remains ongoing, we have no additional comment.”
Hyundai Heavy Industries’ press department could not be immediately reached for this story.
Baltimore has hired DiCello Levitt, a trial firm known for its handling of complex issues, and Philadelphia’s Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky Trial Lawyers.
“We will bring significant economic and environmental loss claims on behalf of the city of Baltimore and its residents against the MV Dali’s owner, charterer, manager/operator, manufacturer and others, to hold them accountable for causing one of the largest inner-city maritime disasters in US history,” DiCello Levitt co-founder Adam Levitt said.
“We need to hold these entities accountable for the emotional toll and the substantial financial losses that the city of Baltimore and its residents are facing.”
The city’s announcement came amid reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a criminal probe into the bridge collapse.
Civil action is likely to take place in the federal court in Baltimore, where Grace Ocean and Synergy have filed a limitation of liability proceeding.
