Key Bridge update: City of Baltimore files claim against owner, manager of ship that caused collapse

BALTIMORE, Md. - It has been four weeks since a massive container ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

It caused a deadly collapse, killing six construction workers and now, new court documents filed by the City of Baltimore say the owner and manager of the ship should be held fully liable.

In response to the filing, the Baltimore City Law Office sent a statement to FOX 5 saying, "Yesterday, the City filed its claim against the owners and managers of the Dali, in accordance with admiralty and maritime law.  As the Mayor stated in his announcement last week, the City is pursuing its legal claims against those responsible for the Key Bridge catastrophe to ensure that the City, its residents, and its businesses are adequately compensated for their losses.  As this matter is now the subject of active litigation, we will reserve further comment for the appropriate judicial forum." 

The city council and mayor announced the plans to take legal action but stayed tight-lipped on the matter during a press conference Tuesday.

"I know what you’re trying to do but you’re not going to get me to talk about the lawsuit. That will happen in due time," Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott said when asked to clarify who owns the bridge and would be managing the cost of any repairs. 

RELATED: Baltimore Key Bridge collapse: Legal battle brewing over responsibility for tragedy

In the filing this week, attorneys for the City of Baltimore accused the companies of negligence, arguing that they should have realized the Dali was unfit for voyage. It even claims the vessel was manned by an incompetent crew.

This comes weeks after the ship owner, Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and the ship’s management company, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., filed their claims in hopes of capping their legal liability for the deadly disaster. 

The ship lost power shortly after leaving the Port of Baltimore on the morning of March 26 and hit one of the Key Bridge’s support columns.

The families of the victims were also mentioned in the filing by the City of Baltimore, with attorneys saying their lives will be forever impacted because of the ship owner and manager. 

In the end, the state of Maryland will determine who is responsible and how much they owe but the companies’ joint filing seeks to cap the cost to them at roughly $43 million.

At Tuesday’s briefing, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said work on the salvage operation continues, with 560 tons of steel pulled out of the water Monday — the largest amount since operations began. 

RELATED: Baltimore Key Bridge collapse: Owner of ship asks cargo owners to help cover salvage costs

He added that crews are on track to open four channels by the end of the week as part of the salvage operation.

"This work is complicated. This work is dangerous. And we need to make sure these commercial vehicles do not slow our work as we’re still clearing the wreckage," Gov. Moore said. 

But when asked if the state had plans of joining any pending lawsuits, Moore only said they are aware of the current proceedings and will continue to follow the investigations.

"There’s still an active investigation that’s going on. I know as a state, we’re not just monitoring closely but we are in active communications. We know that as the investigation goes on, we will be able to move in accordance with the investigation," he said. 

As for the companies of the ship, they have not answered questions directly related to legal battles.

Darrell Wilson, a spokesperson for Synergy Marine, said the companies did not have a comment on the newly filed documents due to the ongoing investigation by the Coast Guard and NTSB.

"Out of respect for these ongoing investigations and any future legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time," Wilson emailed FOX 5.