The owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the Baltimore bridge collapse recklessly cut corners and ignored known electrical problems on the vessel, the Justice Department alleged in a lawsuit seeking to recover more than $100 million that the government spent to clear the underwater debris and reopen the city’s port.
The lawsuit filed in Maryland provides the most detailed account yet of the cascading series of failures on the Dali that left the vessel’s pilots and crew helpless in the face of looming disaster.
Mechanical and electrical systems
The Justice Department alleges that mechanical and electrical systems on the massive container ship had been “jury-rigged” and improperly maintained, culminating in a catastrophic power outage moments before it crashed into a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March. Six road workers on the bridge were killed when it plunged into the water.
This tragedy was entirely avoidable,” if not for the companies’ decision to place an “ill-prepared crew on an abjectly unseaworthy vessel,” says the lawsuit against Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and manager Synergy Marine Group, both of Singapore.
Darrell Wilson, a spokesperson for Grace Ocean, said the owner and manager had no comment at this time, but “look forward to our day in court to set the record straight.”
Justice Department officials refused to answer questions about whether a criminal investigation into the bridge collapse is ongoing. FBI agents boarded the vessel in April amid a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the catastrophe
Sources : Agencies
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