The owners and overseers of the vessel that crashed into the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge petitioned to cap liability for the collision under the U.S. maritime law on April 1.
Grace Ocean Private Ltd., a Singapore-based shipping corporation that owned the vessel—the Dali—, and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., the vessel’s Singapore-based manager, jointly filed the petition in Maryland’s District Court to limit its companies’ liability to $43.6 million.
The companies’ proposed liability stemmed from deducting the estimated $28 million in repair costs and $19.5 million in salvage costs for the city’s Francis Scott Key Bridge from the Dali’s estimated max value of $90 million and the vessel’s pending $1.1 million in freight income—totaling $43,670,000.
Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine filed the petition under the 1851 maritime law, which covers any naval business and other nautical matters, from shipping to offenses.
The companies’ petition filing is the initial step in this possibly extensive case, and the $43.6 million is an estimate. A final determination of the occurrence’s catalyst, accountable party, and attested amount in damages will ultimately determine Grace Ocean’s and Synergy Marine’s liability.
Videos online showed the cargo ship navigating along the Patapsco River on March 26 as several vehicles crossed the bridge. At one point, the Dali lost power but recovered. Thick black smoke rose from a part of the ship before it lost power again and crashed into the bridge.
AP reported that the crash happened in the middle of the night, before the busy morning traffic.
Prior to the collision, three Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police Officers—Sergeant Paul Pastorek, Corporal Jeremy Herbert and Officer Garry Kirts—sprung into action to prevent further loss of life by stopping traffic.
Eight people were on the bridge, and two were rescued. Six construction workers were filling potholes on the bridge, and the search for them began underwater.
The bodies of two of the six workers employed by Brawner Builders were recovered from a red pickup truck in the river. Police have moved the search to salvage efforts because they believe the missing four are in their vehicles, sheathed in the bridge debris. Divers can’t operate around the debris and struggle to see a foot in front of them in the murky waters.
Officials have released the names of the six workers—Miguel Luna from El Salvador, 26-year-old Dorlian Cabrera from Guatemala (one of the men found in the red pickup truck), 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes from Mexico (the other man recovered from the truck), 34-year-old Honduran Consulate Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 35-year-old Jose Mynor Lopez from Guatemala and a man named Carlos whose full name hasn’t been released.
Jack Murphy, the owner of Brawner Builders, released a statement expressing that the company was mourning the loss of its employees. He created a GoFundMe to support the workers’ families, and the company hosted a fundraiser at Checkerspot Brewing Co. on April 3. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the Construction Angels non-profit organization, which aims to support the families of construction workers who lost their lives on the job.
