US authorities seek over $100 million in compensation after Baltimore bridge collapse

An accident that could be costly. On Wednesday, September 18, the American authorities initiated legal action to claim more than 100 million dollars in compensation from the Singaporean companies that owned and managed the container ship that caused the collapse of a bridge crucial to the United States economy in March.

On March 26, the container ship Daliwhich was leaving the port of Baltimore (Maryland), had suffered several electrical faults and had crashed into the Francis Scott Key highway bridge. The latter had collapsed like a house of cards, causing the death of six workers, who were carrying out repair work. It took more than two months of work to restore normal maritime traffic in the port.

The complaint filed by the Ministry of Justice against the Singaporean companies Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, respectively the owner and manager of the vessel, aims to recover the expenses incurred by the federal government in these operations. “The Justice Department wants to place the costs of cleaning the channel and reopening the Port of Baltimore on the companies that caused the accident, not on American taxpayers.”Minister Merrick Garland explained in a statement.