Baltimore bridge shipowner and manager sue Hyundai Heavy for negligence

LITIGATION over the Baltimore bridge disaster continues, with shipowner and manager of Dali (IMO: 9697428) suing its builder, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, for product liability and negligence.

Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine told a US court that the 10,000 teu containership lost power and allided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024 because of a loose switchboard wire, which caused the ship to lose power.

“The casualty was caused by HHI’s negligence or gross negligence in the design, construction, and/or manufacture of a critical switchboard that was installed in the vessel,” the companies said in their complaint.

“HHI defectively designed the switchboard in such a manner that wiring connections were not secure, could not be verified as secure, and could lose connection during normal operation, such that the signal wire was not designed to remain securely connected to the terminal block.”

The bridge collapse killed six road workers who were on the bridge at the time and injured another two. The vessel and its cargo were damaged and traffic in the waterway blocked.

Grace Ocean and Synergy said they “incurred and continue to incur substantial costs to litigate claims arising out of the casualty”.

The two companies agreed last October to settle a civil suit with the US Justice Department for $102m to cover the costs of the cleanup.

In its complaint, Synergy said the design defect caused the switchboard and the vessel to be unreasonably dangerous and in a defective condition when it left HHI’s control.

Synergy told Lloyd’s List it would not comment further since the matter was before the court.

“We continue to co-operate fully with the relevant authorities and reiterate our deep sympathies to all those affected,” a spokesman said.

Blank Rome partners Terry Henry and William Bennett, and of counsel Emma Jones, are acting for Grace Ocean and Synergy in the marine product liability suit, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.