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The city of Baltimore is suing the owner and operator of the ship that crashed into Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, claiming the vessel was ‘unseaworthy’ when it left port.
The 985-ft Dali vessel was manned by ‘an incompetent crew’ and set sail despite several prior warnings about its safety, the lawsuit states.
Six construction crew workers were killed in the accident, which brought one of America’s busiest ports to a grinding halt.
In court documents filed on Monday, city officials, including Mayor Brandon Scott, say the ship’s parent company, Grace Ocean Private Ltd, and its operator, Synergy Marine Group, were ‘potentially criminally negligent’.
The city claims the ship set sail despite ‘alarms showing an inconsistent power supply’ and accuses the boat’s owner of supplying it with ‘unseaworthy equipment, systems, and appurtenances’.