US files lawsuit against owner, operator of vessel that destroyed bridge in Baltimore

ISTANBUL

The US Justice Department announced Wednesday that it has filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the vessel that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Justice Department said it filed a civil claim in the US District Court for the District of Maryland against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singaporean corporations that owned and operated the container ship that destroyed the bridge in March this year.

The lawsuit seeks to recover over $100 million in costs the US incurred in responding to the fatal disaster and for clearing the entangled wreck and bridge debris from the navigable channel so the port could reopen, it said in a statement.

"The Justice Department is committed to ensuring accountability for those responsible for the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which resulted in the tragic deaths of six people and disrupted our country’s transportation and defense infrastructure," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

"With this civil claim, the Justice Department is working to ensure that the costs of clearing the channel and reopening the Port of Baltimore are borne by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer," he added.

Response efforts of dozens of federal, state and local agencies in the US removed about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and asphalt from the channel, according to the statement.

The container ship Dali, carrying nearly 4,700 containers, struck the bridge, leaving six people dead. The collapse of the structure brought traffic to a halt at one of the busiest ports in the US. The blocked shipping channel was fully reopened in June.