US SUES CARGO SHIP OWNER OVER BRIDGE COLLAPSE, SEEKS US$100 MLN IN COSTS

WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Bernama-dpa) -- The US Justice Department on Wednesday sued the owner and operator of the cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge, in order to recover more than US$100 million in costs, reported the German news agency (dpa).

A cargo ship rammed into one of the support pillars of the four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore harbour on March 26, causing it to collapse and killing six workers who were carrying out routine construction at the time.

The Justice Department filed a civil claim against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singaporean corporations that own and operate the ship.

"The Justice Department is committed to ensuring accountability for those responsible for the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which resulted in the tragic deaths of six people and disrupted our country’s transportation and defence infrastructure," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

"With this civil claim, the Justice Department is working to ensure that the costs of clearing the channel and reopening the Port of Baltimore are borne by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer."

About 50,000 tonnes of steel, concrete, and asphalt were removed from the channel and from the ship, during the recovery efforts.

According to initial findings, there was a problem with the ship's power supply prior to the accident.

-- BERNAMA-dpa