The Baltimore Bridge Collapse and Its Aftermath

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, in March 2023, was a tragic event that resulted in the deaths of six construction workers. The collapse was caused by a cargo ship, the Dali, crashing into a support column of the bridge.

• The ship, owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and managed by Synergy Marine Group, both of Singapore, was leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka when its steering failed due to a power loss.
• The ship's power loss was caused by a cascading series of electrical failures that were ultimately attributed to the ship's poor maintenance and "jury-rigged" repairs.
• The bridge collapse shut down commercial shipping traffic through the Port of Baltimore for months, causing significant economic disruption.

The Justice Department Lawsuit

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Group, seeking to recover more than $100 million in damages related to the bridge collapse.

• The lawsuit alleges that the ship's owners and managers recklessly ignored known electrical problems and cut corners in their maintenance of the vessel, which led to the power loss and subsequent bridge collapse.
• The lawsuit details the ship's history of electrical failures, including a previous blackout while docked in Baltimore, and the numerous "jury-rigged" repairs that were made to the ship's electrical system.
• The Justice Department argues that the ship's owners and managers are responsible for the bridge collapse and the resulting damages, including the cost of clearing the debris and reopening the Port of Baltimore.

The Ship's Electrical Failures

The Justice Department's lawsuit highlights the ship's numerous electrical failures, which were ultimately attributed to the ship's poor maintenance and "jury-rigged" repairs.

• The lawsuit details a previous blackout while the ship was docked in Baltimore, caused by a crew member mistakenly closing an exhaust damper during maintenance.
• The lawsuit also mentions that the ship's electrical equipment was in such bad condition that an independent agency stopped further electrical testing due to safety concerns.
• The lawsuit points to "excessive vibrations" on the ship as a contributing factor to the electrical failures. Instead of addressing the source of the vibrations, crew members "jury-rigged" the ship's electrical system.

The Ship's "Jury-Rigged" Repairs

The Justice Department's lawsuit alleges that the ship's owners and managers repeatedly made "jury-rigged" repairs to the ship's electrical system, rather than addressing the underlying problems.

• The lawsuit highlights the presence of cracked equipment in the engine room, pieces of cargo shaken loose, and loose nuts and bolts throughout the ship.
• The Justice Department alleges that the ship's owners and managers prioritized cost-cutting over safety, which resulted in the ship's electrical system being in a state of disrepair.
• The lawsuit claims that the ship's owners and managers knew about the electrical problems but ignored them, prioritizing profits over safety.

The Ship's Lack of Automatic Power Transfer

The lawsuit also alleges that the ship's owners and managers disabled a safety feature that would have prevented the power loss from causing the bridge collapse.

• The ship had an automatic power transfer system that was designed to switch to a backup system if the primary system failed.
• The Justice Department claims that the ship's owners and managers disabled this safety feature, which meant that the ship was reliant on manual power restoration.
• The lawsuit states that the ship's engineers took a full minute to manually restore power after the primary system failed, which was enough time for the ship to lose steering and crash into the bridge.

The Aftermath of the Baltimore Bridge Collapse

The bridge collapse had a devastating impact on the families of the workers killed, the Port of Baltimore, and the city of Baltimore as a whole.

• The families of the victims filed a claim seeking to hold the ship's owners and managers liable for the disaster.
• Brawner Builders, the construction company that employed the victims, also filed a claim for damages, seeking compensation for the loss of its employees and equipment.
• The bridge collapse caused significant economic disruption to the Port of Baltimore, as it forced the closure of the shipping channel for several months.

The Future of the Lawsuit

The Justice Department's lawsuit is still ongoing, and the outcome of the case remains to be seen.

• The ship's owners and managers have denied any wrongdoing and have said that they will vigorously defend themselves against the lawsuit.
• The lawsuit is likely to be a complex and lengthy legal battle.
• The outcome of the case will have a significant impact on the families of the victims, the Port of Baltimore, and the shipping industry as a whole.