The operator of a vessel involved in the Key Bridge wreck in Baltimore is being sued by the Justice Department for $100 million.

On Tuesday, the owner and operator of the Dali vessel was sued by the Justice Department for $100 million after the vessel crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused it to collapse.

In the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a civil claim has been filed against Singaporean corporations Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, who owned and operated the Dali container ship.

"The ship's owner and manager, who now seek to limit their liability to less than $44 million, sent an ill-prepared crew on an unseaworthy vessel to navigate American waterways. Their actions were driven by the desire to profit from conducting business in American ports, but they cut corners in ways that endangered lives and infrastructure. Those responsible for the vessel must be held fully accountable for the catastrophic harm they caused, and punitive damages should be imposed to prevent such misconduct."

The Dali departed from the Port of Baltimore at 3:00 am on March 26, heading towards Sri Lanka. The lawsuit outlines the sequence of events that led to the ship losing power twice and collapsing the Key Bridge, resulting in the death of six individuals.

The lawsuit alleges that the incident caused a halt in all shipping activities at the port and disrupted a vital highway route. Following the incident, the U.S. government had to remove approximately 50,000 tons of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the channel and the ship in order to reopen the Port of Baltimore. The claim seeks to recover $100 million in damages incurred by the federal government in responding to the disaster and cleanup. However, the claim does not include the cost of bridge reconstruction. The state of Maryland may pursue a separate claim in the future, as they incurred those costs, according to the DOJ.

Grace Ocean and Synergy made careless and grossly negligent decisions that led to the accident, which occurred because they recklessly sent an unseaworthy vessel to navigate a critical waterway and ignored the risks to American lives and the nation's infrastructure, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Chetan Patil told reporters.

"The Justice Department is taking steps to hold accountable those responsible for the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which resulted in the deaths of six people and disrupted our country's transportation and defense infrastructure. Through a civil claim, the Justice Department aims to ensure that the costs of clearing the channel and reopening the Port of Baltimore are borne by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer."

"The Dali's owner and operator were aware of vibration issues that could cause a power outage, but instead of taking necessary precautions, they did the opposite. Out of negligence, mismanagement, and a desire to cut costs, they configured the ship's electrical and mechanical systems in a way that prevented those systems from quickly restoring propulsion and steering after a power outage. As a result, when the Dali lost power, a cascading set of failures led to disaster."

The lawsuit alleges that the Dali's propeller, rudder, anchor, and bow thruster were not functioning when they were required to prevent or lessen the severity of the disaster.

"The catastrophe that occurred on the Dali was entirely avoidable and resulted from a series of predictable errors made by the owner and operator, according to Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton. The lawsuit seeks to recover the costs incurred by the United States in responding to the disaster, which include removing the bridge parts from the channel and those parts that were tangled with the vessel, as well as mitigating the significant risk of oil pollution."

Synergy Marine Private Limited and an attorney for Grace Ocean Private Limited were contacted by Planet Chronicle Digital for comment, but they did not respond promptly.