C. Ryan Barber of The Wall Street Journal reports that the Justice Department has filed a $100 million civil claim against the owner and operators of the ship that collided with Francis Scott Key Bridge. Barber writes:
The Justice Department on Wednesday sued the owner and operator of the containership that caused the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, alleging they ignored safety issues that resulted in the vessel colliding into the span after losing power.
In a civil claim, the department is seeking more than $100 million in damages to recoup the costs incurred by the federal government in responding to the March disaster that killed six construction workers, severed a critical highway and brought shipping traffic to a standstill out of the Port of Baltimore.
The government filed the case against two Singaporean corporations: Grace Ocean, the registered owner of the ship, called the Dali; and Synergy Marine, which managed it.
“We allege that the Dali’s owner and operator recklessly cut corners in ways that risked lives and the economic well-being of the nation,” said Justice Department lawyer Benjamin C. Mizer.[…]
The department’s claim doesn’t include any damages for the reconstruction of the Key Bridge, which was built, owned and maintained by Maryland. The state could file its own claim for those damages.
The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances that led to the disaster. In April, more than a dozen agents boarded the ship as it remained stuck in the channel. Justice Department officials declined to comment Wednesday on the criminal probe.
Read more here.
