Francis Scott Key Bridge: Baltimore says ship was 'unseaworthy' before leaving port; sues operators, manager

The city of Baltimore has sued the operators of the container ship that hit and destroyed Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, killing six people. The city said that it had "an incompetent crew" and set sail despite several warnings.

A court document filed on Monday revealed city officials as saying that the Dali was "clearly unseaworthy". The city also accused its owners and managers of negligence.

It said that the ship's parent company, Grace Ocean Private Ltd, and its operator, Synergy Marine Group, were "potentially criminally negligent" after the incident.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River in the early morning of March 26, killing six men who were working on the span at the time.

The accident happened after the massive container ship lost power and crashed into a support pylon. The bodies of two victims are still missing.

An earlier report by the Washington Post said thatthe probe into the collapse will focus in part on whether the crew of the Dali left the port knowing the freighter had serious problems with its systems.

Now, the city has said that the collapse was caused by the owner's "carelessness, negligence, gross negligence, and recklessness, and as a result of the unseaworthiness" of the ship.

As quoted in reports, the attorneys representing the Baltimore mayor and city council argued in a federal lawsuit: "None of this should have happened."

As per Baltimore officials, "alarms showing an inconsistent power supply on the Dali had sounded" before leaving port. The documents allege, "The Dali left port anyway, despite its clearly unseaworthy condition."

The lawsuit further alleged that the ship had an "incompetent crew" on board who "failed to comply with local navigation customs". It claimed that the crew lacked proper skill and training.

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Last week, reports claimed that the FBI had launched a criminal probe targeting the container. The Washington Post described it as a "criminal investigation",and cited two unnamed US officials as saying the probe will look "at least in part" at whether the crew knew the ship had serious systems problems when it left the port.

(With inputs from agencies)