The state of Maryland sues Dali ship owner and manager over the Key Bridge collapse

The state of Maryland announced that it is filing a lawsuit against the owners and manager of the cargo ship, Dali, which caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse on March 26, killing six construction workers and shutting down a busy port for months.

In a news conference Tuesday, the state’s Attorney General, Anthony Brown, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and other state leaders announced the lawsuit against the two Singaporean companies, Grace Ocean Private Limited — the company that owns the cargo ship — and its operator, Synergy Marine Pte. Ltd.

Maryland state leaders argue in the suit that the two companies failed to take the necessary precautions to prevent the bridge’s collapse.

“What happened in the early morning of March 26 should never have happened,” Moore said as he thanked citizens for their swift action following the bridge’s collapse.

“But the presence of action doesn’t mean the absence of accountability. We can – and we will – pursue both at the same time,” he added.

In the 56-page lawsuit filed in federal court, the state claims it will pursue punitive damages in addition to seeking compensation for damages to cover:

• The total cost of the replacement of the Francis Scott Key bridge
• Lost revenues, including tolls, fees, and taxes
• Indemnification, damages, and attorneys’ fees pursuant to the Tariff
• Damage to the state’s natural resources
• All costs associated with the emergency response, salvage, demolition, and benefits paid to affected workers and businesses
• Increased wear and tear on the State’s infrastructure
• All costs related to environmental contamination and penalties
• And, other forms of economic loss flowing from the destruction of the bridge.

Brown, who has served as the state’s attorney general since 2023, said in a statement to NPR that while the state will work to rebuild the bridge, it should not be the responsibility of Marylanders to pay for the ship’s owner and managers’ “negligence and incompetence.”

“Our state has lost valuable tax and toll revenues, and Maryland’s economy has been disrupted,” Brown said.

Attorneys representing Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte. did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment on the lawsuit filed.

News of the state’s lawsuit comes a week after the Department of Justice filed its lawsuit against the owner and operator of the Dali. The federal agency argues that negligence and dangerous cost-cutting decisions resulted in the ship ramming into and ultimately destroying the Baltimore bridge.

“The ship’s owner and manager … sent an ill-prepared crew on an abjectly unseaworthy vessel to navigate the United States’ waterways,” the Justice Department alleges in a civil claim filed on Sept. 18 in a federal court in Maryland.

Additionally, the civil claim cites costs such as the state’s emergency response to the disaster and clearing some 50,000 tons of steel and other materials to create a temporary channel for ships to navigate to and from the Port of Baltimore.

The Department of Justice is suing two the Singapore-based companies, seeking more than $100 million in costs the U.S. incurred in responding to the bridge’s collapse. The federal claim does not include the cost of reconstructing the bridge.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a news release last week that costs resulting from the bridge collapse should be “borne by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced in April it would investigate the fatal bridge collapse. The FBI’s investigation is separate from an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and will focus on whether the ship’s crew knew about vessel malfunctions before departure.

NPR’s Bill Chappell contributed to this report.