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As federal proceedings in Baltimore continue over the March 2024 allision of the containership Dali with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the vessel’s owner and operator have initiated a new legal front. Grace Ocean, the ship’s owner, and Synergy Marine, its operator, have filed a lawsuit against Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the vessel’s builder, alleging negligence and gross negligence in the design, construction, and manufacturing of the ship’s critical switchboard—now a central focus in the investigation into the catastrophic blackout that preceded the bridge’s collapse.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the U.S. Coast Guard, and other federal agencies quickly zeroed in on the vessel’s power systems. The allision has been linked to a sudden blackout that disabled propulsion and rudder control, triggered by a trip in the main circuit breakers. Reports indicated that this interruption shut down key systems, including the hydraulics controlling the rudder.
By June 2024, the NTSB publicly reported an “interruption in the control circuit” associated with the main breakers. A later technical review uncovered that a transformer relay cable had been loosely connected, a flaw that, according to Hyundai representatives, could generate an open circuit and disrupt the 110VDC power on the switchboard’s high-voltage side. Engineers confirmed that this condition could trigger an under-voltage release (UVR) trip, leading to a 440V blackout—a scenario successfully replicated in test conditions.
In their July 31 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the plaintiffs allege that the switchboard was defectively designed. According to the complaint, the wiring connections “were not secure, could not be verified as secure, and could loosen during normal operations,” creating an unreasonably dangerous condition from the time the vessel left HHI’s control. The filing highlights that a UVR coil failed to receive the required control voltage because a key signal wire in the UVR circuit was not fully seated in its terminal block, creating an open circuit.
The plaintiffs further contend that the defect originated from a labeling band installed too close to the wire’s ferrule, which prevented the signal wire from fully inserting into the terminal block’s spring clamp gate. They assert that these and other manufacturing deficiencies rendered the switchboard and vessel defective.
Under maritime product liability law, a manufacturer may be held liable if a product is unreasonably dangerous or defective when it leaves the builder’s possession. Construction of the Dali began in July 2014, and Hyundai Heavy Industries delivered the vessel in March 2015. The lawsuit claims HHI failed to ensure that all wiring connections were properly secured and resistant to loosening under normal conditions.
Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine are seeking compensation for repair costs, damage to the vessel, and contribution or indemnity for 45 active claims in the ongoing Maryland civil litigation. These claims range from property and economic damages to personal injury, wrongful death, cargo loss, environmental cleanup, and general average. The federal court in Maryland is expected to begin the first phase of hearings next year, focusing on the shipowner’s limitation of liability, which could shape the total financial exposure.
Notably, the Dali had been in service for nine years before the bridge allision, with a record of prior power issues, including incidents in Baltimore. NTSB findings have also pointed to deferred maintenance and makeshift repairs, while state and federal filings have challenged the vessel’s seaworthiness and crew training.
Hyundai Heavy Industries has been formally served in the product liability case and is expected to respond in due course, marking the start of a parallel legal battle over responsibility for the alleged defects at the heart of one of the most consequential maritime accidents in recent U.S. history.
