On July 31, Singapore-based ship owner Grace Ocean and ship manager Synergy Marine, represented by US law firms Blank Rome and Duane Morris, filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania state court.
The lawsuit alleges that the ship’s switching system, designed and manufactured by HHI, caused two power failures aboard when the 10,000 TEU “Dali” left Baltimore on March 26, 2024. Ultimately this caused the ship to collapse and crash into the Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine are seeking compensation for ship repairs to the ship chartered by Maersk as well as compensation for third-party claims. Baltimore is in the state of Maryland, but the lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania, where HHI has an agent for the service of legal papers.
At the time of the incident, the “Dali” was carrying 4,679 containers and en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The final destination port was Yantian in China. At around 1:25 a.m. local time, about 45 minutes after leaving the Port of Baltimore, the 10,000 TEU “Dali” suffered a loss of power and propulsion in the main shipping channel. The crew attempted to restore power and thereby propulsion, achieving only brief success before the system failed again. A short time later, however, the power failed a second time. After just three minutes, the “Dali” collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the bridge to collapse and killing six construction workers.
The “Dali” was powered by a single, low-speed diesel engine manufactured by HHI under license from MAN B&W. The engine is directly connected to a single clockwise rotating propeller.
The “Dali” has four diesel generators from Himsen (a subsidiary of HHI). Diesel generators No. 1 and No. 4 have an output of 4,580 kW, while diesel generators No. 2 and No. 3 (DG) have an output of 4,000 kW. The ship also has an emergency diesel generator with an output of 200 kW. According to the plaintiffs, the US authorities’ investigation revealed that a signal from a loose cable in the ship’s switchboard had caused the “Dali” to lose propulsion at the time of the incident.
