Baltimore longshoremen sue owner and manager of ship that caused the Key Bridge collapse

BALTIMORE (AP) — A group of Baltimore longshoremen have sued the owner and manager of the ship that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, arguing the companies should compensate them for wages lost while the port was closed in the aftermath of the deadly disaster.

The class action lawsuit adds to a slew of other legal claims alleging the ship’s Singapore-based owner and manager, Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Group, knowingly sent an unseaworthy ship into U.S. waters.

Six construction workers were killed in the collapse, which halted most maritime traffic through Baltimore’s busy port for months as crews worked around the clock to clear thousands of tons of mangled steel and concrete from the main shipping channel. During the initial cleanup, many longshoremen found themselves out of work.

“This was equivalent for longshoremen what the world experienced during COVID, when everything stopped,” said plaintiff Ryan Hale, who’s worked at the port for over a decade. “I’ll never forget, I wake up in the morning, getting ready for work, turn on the news — I had to flip the channels twice to make sure it wasn’t a horror movie.”