Cargo ship owners suing ship builders for catastrophic crash into Francis Scott Key Bridge

Cargo ship owners say that a fault in the design of the ship led to the catastrophic crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, prompting a lawsuit. 

The crash that led to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland happened in March of 2024. Now, the owners of that ship, the Dali, are suing the company that built the ship, alleging negligence in the design of a crucial switchboard they say malfunctioned in the moments leading up to the major accident. 

The owners, Grace Ocean Private and Synergy Marine PTE Ltd filed the lawsuit against Hyundai Heavy Industries last week in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, reported US News.

“As a result of the defectively designed Switchboard, the Vessel suffered a power outage that led to the allision with the Key Bridge,” Grace Ocean Private alleges in the lawsuit.

The suit alleges that the switchboard was designed in a manner that caused the wiring connections to be insecure, which  “caused the switchboard and the vessel to be unreasonably dangerous … when it left HHI’s control.”

“HHI’s defective manufacture of the Switchboard and Vessel caused the signal wiring to come loose in normal operation, resulting in the power outage that led to the allision,” the lawsuit says.

Last year, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the ship owner seeking compensation for the $100 million spent clearing the underwater debris and reopening the port. The cargo ship owner agreed to pay more than $102 million to settle the lawsuit. In that lawsuit, the Justice Department accused the cargo ship owner of failing to address “excessive vibrations” on the ship that led to the wiring issue. 

Currently crews are still working to remove the remaining large sections of bridge to begin replacement. The bridge replacement is expected to reopen in 2028. For now, trucking companies are still figuring out alternate routes, and surrounding cities are working to combat the traffic and road conditions these workarounds bring.