Nearly six months after it made headlines around the world for bringing down Baltimore’s largest bridge, the Dali containership finally left American waters yesterday and is headed to Ningbo in China for further extensive repairs.
The ship was escorted by the US Coast Guard and three tugs as it left Norfolk, Virginia yesterday, carrying no cargo. Its journey to China is expected to take 46 days.
The US Department of Justice filed a $103m civil claim against the owner and manager of the Dali containership this week, alleging negligence and unseaworthy conditions led to this March’s dramatic accident in Baltimore which brought port operations to a halt for months.
The damning 53-page claim filed at the US District Court for the District of Maryland against Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine details the moments leading up to the March 26 accident that saw the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse with the loss of six lives. The claim details how the vessel lost power, regained power, and then lost power again before striking the bridge.
Legal cases surrounding this year’s most high-profile shipping accident are expected to run for many years costing hundreds of millions of dollars.
Lawyers for three of the families who lost loved ones when Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed six months ago are also suing the owners of the Dali containership for personal injuries, adding to a slew of lawsuits surrounding the vessel.