Baltimore has filed a lawsuit against the owner and manager of the Dali, the ship that collided with and destroyed a bridge in the city, reported the BBC.
Baltimore has accused the containership’s operator of negligence after alleging that the Dali was “clearly unseaworthy”.
The lawsuit contends that the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge occurred due to their “gross negligence and recklessness, and as a result of the unseaworthiness of the vessel.”
The proceedings come as the Port of Baltimore, the city’s busiest maritime transit port, suffered heavily with its regular trade since the bridge’s collapse on 26 March.
“None of this should have happened,” argued the attorneys representing the Baltimore Mayor and City Council in a federal lawsuit.
According to the BBC, Baltimore requested the US District Court of Maryland for a jury trial to hold the vessel’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Limited, and its manager, Synergy Marine Private Limited, fully liable.
However, the Dali’s Singapore-based owner and manager have already taken protective measures after petitioning the same federal court in Maryland to limit their liability for the incident, reported the BBC.
The two companies put their liability for the vessel and cargo’s value at $43.6 million, a number that was disputed by Baltimore’s court filing. According to the lawsuit, filed on 22 April, this number 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”.
Exiting the Port of Baltimore under the key bridge is a route that is “no stranger to large freighters”, according to the city’s representatives, who later claimed that the vessel “had been experiencing an inconsistent power supply” that was ignored.
The lawsuit continued to state that the Dali was manned by “an incompetent crew that was inattentive to its duties” and “lacked proper training”.
READ: Shipping rates remain stable amid Baltimore bridge collapse
The lawsuit has come a matter of days after the Port of Baltimore opened a third temporary channel for vessels to access the port.
Port officials reported that the channel enhances shipping access to the port, especially for “commercially essential vessels”, while collapsed sections of the bridge are salvaged before reconstruction can commence.
According to the BBC, six roadwork crew members on the bridge have died, with the bodies of two yet to be retrieved.
