Owners of cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore bridge sue company that built vessel

Key Points

• The owners of the cargo ship Dali are suing Hyundai Heavy Industries, alleging negligence in the design of a crucial switchboard that caused a power outage and led to the ship crashing into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
• The incident resulted in the destruction of the bridge, the death of six roadwork crew members, and the closure of Baltimore's port for several months.
• The U.S. Justice Department filed a separate lawsuit seeking over $100 million for cleanup costs, claiming the ship's owners ignored known electrical problems that contributed to the accident.
• The National Transportation Safety Board noted that the Dali experienced electrical blackouts shortly before the incident, highlighting ongoing issues with the vessel leading up to the crash.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The owners of the cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge are suing the company that built the vessel, alleging negligence in the design of a critical switchboard on the ship.

Grace Ocean Private and Synergy Marine PTE Ltd, the owners of the Dali, filed the lawsuit last week against Hyundai Heavy Industries in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

“As a result of the defectively designed Switchboard, the Vessel suffered a power outage that led to the allision with the Key Bridge,” Grace Ocean Private alleges in the lawsuit.

Hyundai Heavy Industries could not immediately be reached for comment. Court records in the case did not name legal representatives for Hyundai.

Grace Ocean Private contends the switchboard was defectively designed in a manner that wiring connections were not secure. The defect, the company alleges, “caused the switchboard and the vessel to be unreasonably dangerous ... when it left HHI's control."

“HHI’s defective manufacture of the Switchboard and Vessel caused the signal wiring to come loose in normal operation, resulting in the power outage that led to the allision,” the lawsuit says.

The Dali was leaving Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka on March 26 last year when its steering failed due to the power loss. It crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns, destroying the 1.6-mile span and killing six members of a roadwork crew. Baltimore’s port was closed for months, and increased traffic congestion remains a problem across the region.

The Justice Department last year filed 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 owner and manager of the cargo ship agreed to pay more than $102 million in cleanup costs to settle the lawsuit brought by the government.

In that lawsuit, the Justice Department alleged the owner and manager of the cargo ship recklessly cut corners and ignored known electrical problems on the vessel. In particular, the Justice Department accused the ship owner of failing to address “excessive vibrations” that were causing electrical problems.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary report last year that the Dali experienced electrical blackouts about 10 hours before leaving the Port of Baltimore, and yet again shortly before it slammed into the bridge.

Last week, Maryland officials visited the site where demolition crews are using giant saws, backhoes and other heavy equipment to remove large sections of the remaining pieces of the bridge. Its replacement is expected to open in 2028.