Cargo Ship Owner Behind Baltimore Bridge Crash Sued Multiple Times for Alleged Negligence, Worker Injuries

The 9-year-old Dali was also detained by port officials in San Antonio, Chile last June after inspectors discovered a problem related to the vessel’s ​“propulsion and auxiliary machinery,” according to The Washington Post, which cited records from the intergovernmental shipping regulator Tokyo MOU.

The ship’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and operator, Synergy Marine, ​“have been sued at least four times in U.S. federal court on allegations of negligence and other claims tied to worker injuries on other ships owned and operated by the Singapore-based companies,” according to The Associated Press.

Maersk was also sanctioned last year by the U.S. Labor Department for allegedly stopping employees from reporting safety concerns, documents published by The Lever revealed.

According to a July 14, 2023 Labor Department letter to Maersk regarding an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation, the Danish company ​“suspended and then terminated” a worker ​“in retaliation for reporting unsafe conditions and contacting the U.S. Coast Guard.”

The fired employee ​“engaged in numerous protected activities” including reporting a leak and the need for repairs to a ship’s cargo hold bilge system, alcohol use aboard the vessel by crew members, and inoperable equipment including an emergency fire pump and lifeboat block and releasing gear.

The search for six construction workers who were on the bridge when it collapsed into the river was suspended until Wednesday, according toThe Associated Press. The workers are presumed dead by their employer, Brawner Builders. Local media reported that multiple vehicles plunged into the river and that two workers — one of whom was briefly hospitalized — were rescued from the water.