Baltimore taking legal action against Dali stakeholders

Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott has announced the city’s decision to pursue legal action in response to the Key Bridge collapse. The move aims to address accountability in the wake of the tragedy, with a focus on entities associated with the vessel, including its owner, charterer, manufacturer, and operator, as well as any other potentially liable third party.

Dali is owned by Singapore-based Grace Ocean and managed by Synergy Marine. The 9,962 TEU containership is chartered by Maersk, operating on a 2M alliance service between Baltimore and the Far East. The ship was en route from Baltimore to Colombo when the collision occurred.

The decision follows widespread impact on the city’s residents, businesses, and port workers who have been faced with economic hardship following the suspension of port operations.

The City of Baltimore has partnered with legal firms DiCello Levitt and Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky Trial Lawyers to spearhead the legal action and seek compensation for the impact.

“This unthinkable tragedy has taken Marylanders from their loved ones, and risked the livelihoods of thousands of Baltimoreans who rely on the Port of Baltimore,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “We are continuing to do everything in our power to support everyone impacted here and will continue to recognize the human impact this event has had.  Part of that work needs to be seeking recourse from those who may potentially be responsible, and with the ship’s owner filing a petition to limit its liability mere days after the incident, we need to act equally as quickly to protect the city’s interests.”

“We will bring significant economic and environmental loss claims on behalf of the City of Baltimore and its residents against the M/V Dali’s owner, charterer, manager/operator, manufacturer and others, to hold them accountable for causing one of the largest inner-city maritime disasters in U.S. history,” said DiCello Levitt Co-Founder Adam Levitt.

“We need to hold these entities accountable for the emotional toll and the substantial financial losses that the City of Baltimore and its residents are facing.”

The city will also be represented by the Law Department’s Chief of Affirmative Litigation, Sara Gross.

Read also: General average declared over Dali’s Key bridge collision

According to the Washington Post, the FBI has initiated a criminal investigation into the incident, focusing on the circumstances that led to the collision.

“The FBI was present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court authorized law enforcement activity. There is no other public information available, and we will have no further comment,” the FBI said in a statement to WorldCargo News.

The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the accident. Based on the latest update, the investigation is focusing on the electrical system of the vessel.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Unified Command recovered the body of the fourth missing victim from a construction vehicle under the wreckage at the Key Bridge incident site. The bridge collapse has claimed the lives of six construction workers who were working on the bridge at the time of the incident.