Container ship Dali was 'unseaworthy' when it left port, claims City of Baltimore in court filing

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that was struck by the container ship Dali in Baltimore, Md., on March 26, 2024. Maxar Technologies via AP

According to a Monday court statement by the City of Baltimore, the container ship Dali set sail despite its “unseaworthy” circumstances. The ship departed the Port of Baltimore in the early hours of March 26 and crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, toppling a piece of it.

The city contends in the court filing that Grace Ocean Private Ltd., the parent corporation of the ship, ought to be held accountable for the collision with the Key Bridge. The submission was made in response to a request by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. to restrict the amount of damages they would be responsible for paying.

GOPL has maintained in earlier papers that it is not responsible for the collision that claimed the lives of six construction workers and destroyed a portion of the bridge.

A federal lawsuit was launched earlier this month by the owner of the Dali cargo ship, who denied any liability for the catastrophe and sought to restrict the total compensation to $43.7 million—a small amount compared to the billions of dollars that the cleaning and rebuilding of the bridge are anticipated to cost. In an attempt to reduce its responsibility, the corporation is making use of the 1851 Limitation of Liability Act.

According to the city, the Dali struck the bridge 12 minutes after leaving port in spite of warning signals.

The city of Baltimore’s attorney stated in the complaint that “reporting has indicated that, even before leaving port, alarms showing inconsistent power supply on the Dali had sounded.” “The Dali left port anyways despite its clearly unseaworthy condition.”

The city of Baltimore claims that for four decades, hundreds of cargo ships have sailed through the port of Baltimore without incident, making it one of America’s busiest.

The Dali’s “negligence” is grounds for the corporation to reimburse the city for the incident, the city claims.

“For all intents and purposes, Petitioner’s negligence caused them to destroy the Key Bridge, and single handedly destroy the Port of Baltimore, a source of jobs, municipal revenue and no small amount of pride for the city of Baltimore and its residents,” according to the petition.

The company has not yet responded to the accusations.