Baltimore Bridge Collapse

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       Baltimore Says Owner of Ship that Hit Key Bridge Was Negligent

       The owner and manager of the cargo ship that downed the Francis Scott Key Bridge asked a judge to exonerate them from liability. The city argued otherwise.

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       The container ship Dali crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, disrupting the shipping industry.Credit...Pete Kiehart for The New York Times

       By Mike Ives

       April 23, 2024, 4:08 a.m. ET

       The City of Baltimore has said that the owner and manager of the cargo ship that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month are directly responsible for the accident and should not be allowed to avoid legal liability, according to court documents filed on Monday.

       The 985-foot-long ship hit the bridge in the early hours of March 26 after leaving the Port of Baltimore and losing power to its engine and navigation equipment. The bridge collapsed moments later, killing six construction workers, forcing the port to close and disrupting the shipping industry up and down the East Coast.

       A federal investigation into the accident could take years. In the meantime, the ship’s owner and operator, both based in Singapore, have asked a federal judge in Maryland to exonerate them from liability for any related losses or damages.

       In early April, lawyers for the ship’s owner, Grace Ocean, and its manager, Synergy Marine, said in a court filing that the accident had not resulted from “any fault, neglect or want of care” on the companies’ part.

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       If Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine are eventually found liable, the total amount should be limited to about $43.7 million, the two companies argued. That is roughly equivalent to the value of the ship and its freight at the time of the accident, minus estimated salvage and repair costs, according to the companies.

       More on the Baltimore Bridge Collapse Scrambling to Reopen: A shipping channel in Baltimore will be partially reopened by the end of April, with full traffic expected to be restored by late May, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. Trapped in Steel: Twenty-two crew members from India find themselves not only stuck in the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, but also in an unexpected spotlight. No Protective Barriers: The bridge did not have an obvious fender system to redirect or prevent a ship from crashing into its piers. 12 Million Newtons or More: The container ship delivered a force so powerful when it hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge that it could reasonably be compared to a rocket launch.

       Lawyers for Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Baltimore City Council rejected the companies’ arguments on Monday, saying in a filing that the companies should be held liable for whatever damages can be awarded during a jury trial. The filing said the accident was a “direct and proximate” result of the Singaporean firms’ “carelessness, negligence, gross negligence, and recklessness, and as a result of the unseaworthiness of the vessel.”

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       Mike Ives is a reporter for The Times based in Seoul, covering breaking news around the world. More about Mike Ives

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