A new development has emerged in a lawsuit concerning the collision of the container ship Dali with a U.S. bridge.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the vessel’s builder, had faced a lawsuit seeking massive damages from the shipowner over the incident; however, a U.S. court dismissed the case on the grounds of “lack of jurisdiction.” This ruling spares the company the burden of high legal defense costs and the risks associated with an unfavorable judicial environment in the United States.
Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (hereinafter referred to as the “Court”) announced the dismissal of the lawsuit filed against HD Hyundai Heavy Industries by Grace Ocean Private (owner of the vessel Dali) and Synergy Marine (the vessel’s management company) (collectively referred to as the “Plaintiffs”). The Court issued the dismissal ruling after accepting HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ argument that the Court lacked jurisdiction and the authority to adjudicate liability for the accident.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries stated: “We welcome the court’s ruling dismissing this baseless lawsuit; HD Hyundai Heavy Industries had already delivered a vessel meeting seaworthiness and safety standards back in 2015—approximately ten years before the accident occurred.”
The court explicitly stated that the primary ground for dismissing the plaintiff’s lawsuit was the doctrine of forum non conveniens. Under this legal principle, a court may decline to hear a case and transfer it to a more appropriate jurisdiction if proceeding with the trial in the current venue would result in substantial inefficiency. Given that the defendant (HD Hyundai Heavy Industries) is a South Korean corporate entity and the entire shipbuilding process took place in South Korea—with key witnesses and technical documents concentrated there—the court determined that it was more reasonable for a South Korean court to exercise jurisdiction.
Reports indicate that the agreement previously signed by the plaintiffs and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries served as a key basis for the dismissal of the lawsuit. The court explicitly stated that the plaintiffs are bound by the terms of the forum-selection clause signed in 2021. Under that agreement, the plaintiffs received $170,800 in payments related to the shipbuilding warranty and consented to resolve any future disputes in a designated country.
However, despite the court’s ruling to dismiss the case on procedural grounds, the legal dispute has not yet fully concluded. Since the ruling did not address substantive issues of liability—such as alleged design defects in the vessel—the plaintiffs may appeal to a U.S. federal appellate court or refile a claim for damages in a South Korean court, in accordance with the ruling.
In addition, no concrete progress has yet been made regarding the London arbitration proceedings between the shipowner and the shipbuilder, or the lawsuit filed by the government of Maryland—the site of the accident—to claim damages.
The lawsuit concerns a bridge-collision incident that occurred around 1:30 a.m. on March 26, 2024, when the Dali—which was preparing to sail to Sri Lanka—struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, as it was departing the port.