Baltimore accuses DEI-captive manager and owner of Dali of negligence over demolition of Key Bridge

The City of Baltimore recently blasted the owner and manager of the ship that wrought havoc in Maryland last month, stressing not only that they were negligent and their ship was "unseaworthy" but that they should be denied their proposed liability cap.

The Dali, a 984-foot vessel owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and managed by the DEI-captive Synergy Marine Group, rammed into one of the piers holding up the historic Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, killing six people including a beloved father of three.

Were it not for the heroism and quick work of several Baltimore police officers, many more lives would likely have been lost when the steel arch-shaped truss bridge that had long extended Americans 1.6 miles over the Patapsco River came crashing down.

In addition to lives lost, the horrific incident crippled the port — the second-busiest port in the mid-Atlantic. Even today, the ruins of the bridge have limited commercial activity to roughly 15% of the port's pre-collapse level.

While emergency crews were frantically searching for bodies in the harbor's frigid waters just days after the collision, the companies that own and manage the ship requested that they have their liabilities limited with regards to the fatal incident.

The City of Baltimore made clear in court documents filed this week in the U.S. District Court in Maryland that the companies' requested $43.6 million liability cap "is substantially less than the amount that will be claimed for losses and damages arising out of the Dali's allision with the Key Bridge."

The city further underscored the companies were "grossly and potentially criminally negligent," reported Axios.

The city made clear in court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Maryland that the ship's owner and manager "are not entitled to limit their liability in the instant case because, at all times relevant to this litigation, the Dali was operated in a willful, wanton, and reckless manner."

The city further claimed that Grace Ocean Private and the Synergy Marine Group knew that the 110,000-ton Dali to be "unseaworthy" for, among other things,

• failing to properly train the crew,
• failing to follow safe work and operational procedures,
• failing to properly maintain the vessel and its appurtenances,
• failing to properly equip the vessel,
• failing to conduct adequate inspections of the vessel and it appurtenances,
• failing to properly supervise the work with competent employees,
• failing to provide a competent crew and safe equipment,
• improper management of the Dali and/or her crew, and/or
• other failure, acts, or omissions of the petitioners and of the Dali that may be shown at trial.

Just hours prior to leaving port, the Dali — which also collided with the stone pier in the Port of Antwerp in 2016 — had experienced electrical problems, a person with knowledge of the situation recently told the Associated Press.

Alarms on some of the ship's refrigerated containers apparently had gone off, suggestive of an inconsistent flow of power. Nevertheless, the Dali's masters carried on with their attempt to reach open waters — an attempt interrupted by another apparent loss of power, which sent them careening into a critical pier.

While the Synergy Marine Group allegedly failed to execute the basic functions of a ship manager, it evidently has other top priorities.

Synergy Marine Group states on its website that "issues related to diversity are a high priority at Synergy. We realize that the benefits of diversity are best achieved by fostering greater inclusion and belonging."

Whereas the City of Baltimore indicated an understanding Monday that success on the company's part would be characterized by not getting people killed and paralyzing a major port, Synergy Marine Group indicated its goal is a "workplace that is truly characterized by inclusion and belonging."

A jury trial might be the company's next stop on its "DEI journey in building an innovative and sustainable maritime sector which all can be proud of."

Extra to the city seeking to hold the companies financially accountable, it appears there may also be criminal charges on the horizon. After all, the FBI recently launched a criminal probe into the bridge collapse.

The Washington Post indicated that a spokesman for the two companies declined to comment on the investigations and legal proceedings underway.

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