US sues ship firms
for $100m over Baltimore bridge crash
The
US government has filed a $100m (£75.6m) lawsuit against the owner and operator
of a cargo ship that crashed into and destroyed a Baltimore bridge.
Justice Department officials said the companies, Synergy
and Grace Ocean, were "well aware" of the issues with the Dali before
it lost power and crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge on 26 March,
leading to the deaths of six people.
The government said it cost more than $100m to clear the
estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of debris caused by the crash and enable the
Port of Baltimore to reopen.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said he wanted to
ensure that the costs were "borne by the companies that caused the crash,
not by the American taxpayer".
The Justice Department said any money recovered would go
towards the costs of reconstruction.
The bodies of six workers killed as they repaired pot
holes during a nightshift were recovered from the Patapsco river in the days
after the disaster. The families of three said on Monday they were suing Grace Ocean.
The Justice Department's lawsuit, filed in district
court in Maryland, alleges that the ship's electrical and mechanical systems
were improperly maintained and that the crash was "entirely
avoidable".
A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board
report found that the Dali had lost electrical power four times in less than 12
hours before colliding with the bridge.
The damage took months to repair and stalled commercial
shipping into the port, one of the busiest in the US.
Twenty members of the Dali's crew were stuck on the ship
for weeks as it remained entangled by tonnes of concrete and steel from the
wreck.
The disaster is considered the most expensive marine
casualty case in US history.
Grace Ocean filed a motion earlier this year in a
federal court to limit its legal liability.
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