Baltimore ILA Branches File Class Action Against Dali Owners
Both the owner and operator of the Dali container ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, causing its collapse, are under a flurry of new legal claims.
Already prepping for likely strike action across the East and Gulf Coast ports, members of three Baltimore-area local branches of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are suing Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited for their role in the deadly accident.
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The incident, which resulted in the deaths of six construction workers, closed off access to the Port of Baltimore for more than two months, effectively shuttering operations at its terminals and keeping many of its 2,200 dockworkers out of work without a paycheck.
In a class-action lawsuit, the longshoremen are arguing that the Singaporean companies should compensate them for wages lost while the port was closed in the aftermath of the disaster. The parties have not listed a dollar amount in damages.
“Nearly six months later, shipping traffic in the Port of Baltimore has still not returned to pre-disaster levels,” attorneys for the ILA wrote in their claim. “Claimants’ incomes were and continue to be entirely dependent on the flow of cargo vessels in and out of the Port of Baltimore.”
During a news conference Thursday, three dockworkers who are plaintiffs in the case explained how the port closure impacted them.
“I would estimate at this time last year, I had approximately 3,500 hours. This year I am close to 1,500,” said plaintiff Alonzo Key, a longshoreman of 21 years. Anthony Wynn, another plaintiff who returned to the profession in January, was hoping to hit the 400 hours to qualify for ILA union membership. But he believes he didn’t reach that quota by the Sept. 30 contract year deadline due to the port’s closure.
Hours worked is important to the longshoremen, as their pick of working schedule and future job placement is based exclusively on seniority.
“Everything we obtain is acquired through hours,” said the third plaintiff and 12-year port veteran Ryan Hale.
In the wake of the bridge’s collapse, Maryland had to step in to help impacted employees who could no longer work.
In April, the state opened a support program that provided temporary cash assistance to eligible port workers who lost income and work hours due to the Key Bridge collapse. The program doled out $430 every week to those who worked at the Port of Baltimore at least 25 times or made at least $5,000 dollars between Jan. 1 and March 26.
The union workers followed multiple parties that have filed legal action against both companies.
Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott and the city’s council filed their own complaint alleging criminal negligence in the accident back in April, while the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to recover $103 million in losses and damages from the owner-operator duo.
These suits both allege that the companies knew that the 985-foot Maersk-chartered vessel was “unseaworthy” to float in U.S. waters ahead of the voyage to the country.
That was followed by another lawsuit from Maryland attorney general Anthony Brown on behalf of the state and all of its agencies. Brown said the damages stem from the cleanup, the cost to build a new bridge, lost toll revenues after the collapse, environmental damage to state waters, increased “wear and tear” on local roads, among other factors.
The families of multiple victims, as well as local businesses and insurance companies, have also filed claims against the parties. These suits have since been consolidated with the city’s lawsuit into one extensive liability case.
Grace Ocean and Synergy filed a court petition soon in the days after the collapse seeking to limit their legal liability—a routine procedure for cases litigated under U.S. maritime law. Their joint filing seeks to cap the companies’ liability at roughly $43.7 million.
A Maryland court will ultimately decide who is responsible for the accident, and how much that party owes.
Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board concluded the Dali’s electrical and mechanical systems were improperly maintained and configured in a way that violated safety regulations and norms for international shipping. These problems are believed to have resulted in multiple power losses that ultimately led to the accident.
As a result, none of the four means available to help control the Dali—the vessel’s propeller, rudder, anchor or bow thruster—worked when they were needed to avoid or even lessen the impacts of the allision.
Afrer being stuck amid the wreckage of the collapse for months before it could be refloated, the Dali departed Norfolk, Va., on Sept. 19. The container vessel is en route to China’s Port of Ningbo and is expected to reach the mega logistics hub by early November.
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