Comment on New $100M DOJ lawsuit details the 'unseaworthy' condition of the ship behind Baltimore bridge collapse

The Dali crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.Jim Watson/AFP/Getty ImagesThe DOJ filed a $100 million lawsuit against the owner and operator of the Dali.The lawsuit alleges the owner and operator of the container ship "cut corners."The DOJ seeks to recover costs and punitive damages for the disaster that left six workers dead.The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a $100 million lawsuit against the Singapore-based owner and operator of the container ship that struck and collapsed a major Baltimore bridge, alleging that they "cut corners" and "jury-rigged" the vessel.In the lawsuit filed in Maryland federal court, the DOJ called the March 26 disaster that left six construction workers dead and the Francis Scott Key Bridge destroyed an "entirely avoidable tragedy."The electrical and mechanical systems on the massive Singapore-flagged container ship, known as the Dali, were "improperly maintained and configured in a way that violated safety regulations and norms for international shipping," the lawsuit alleges.These problems, the lawsuit says, precipitated a power loss and then a "cascading series of failures that culminated" in the 95,000-ton cargo ship smashing into one of the bridge's support beams, causing it to collapse."As events unfolded, and because of the unseaworthy condition of the ship, none of the four means available to help control the Dali — her propeller, rudder, anchor, or bow thruster — worked when they were needed to avert or even mitigate this disaster," the lawsuit says.The ship's owner and manager, the lawsuit says, sent an "ill-prepared crew on an abjectly unseaworthy vessel to navigate the United States' waterways.""They did so to reap the benefit of conducting business in American ports.