The owners of the cargo ship that struck and damaged one of the major bridges in the US city last month, killing six people, have been sued by Baltimore.
The Dali's owners and manager are accused of negligence by the city, which claims the vessel was "clearly unseaworthy".
The ship's manager and owner, who are located in Singapore, have already requested a court order to reduce their obligation.
After the span collapsed on March 26, the community is still in shock over the closure of its busiest marine transport port.
In a federal lawsuit, attorneys for the Baltimore city council and mayor contended that "none of this should have happened."
To hold the offenders completely accountable, the city is requesting a jury trial in the US District Court of Maryland.
The lawsuit names Grace Ocean Private Limited, the owner of the Dali, and Synergy Marine Private Limited, its manager, claiming that their "gross negligence, and recklessness, and as a result of the unseaworthiness of the Vessel" were directly responsible for the Francis Scott Key Bridge's collapse.
Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine filed a petition in the same federal court in Maryland on April 1st, asking it to limit its liability for the incident.
The two businesses calculated their liability for the vessel and its cargo's value at $43.6 million (£35 million), citing a pre-Civil War maritime law.
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As "substantially less than the amount that will be claimed for losses and damages arising out of the Dali's collision with the Key Bridge," the city of Baltimore refutes that figure in a court filing from Monday.
The city's representatives said that the cargo ship's route, which it took out of the Port of Baltimore beneath the Key Bridge, is "no stranger to large freighters."
"Had been experiencing an inconsistent power supply" on the ship, they stated, which was either not looked into or not addressed.
"The Dali left port anyway, despite its clearly unseaworthy condition," according to the lawsuit.
The document also claims that "an incompetent crew that was inattentive to its duties" and "lacked proper training" operated the Dali.
A third temporary passage for boats to enter and exit the corridor was established by port officials on Friday, although it can only support 15% of the pre-collapse commercial activity.
By the end of the month, a fourth channel that will permit the majority of traffic to return into the port is anticipated to open.
While federal investigations into the collapse are still underway, Darrell Wilson, an attorney representing Synergy Marine and handling media questions on behalf of Grace Ocean, told the BBC that it would be improper to comment on the litigation.
When the bridge fell, six construction workers who were patching potholes perished. There are still two bodies that need to be found.
Thousands of tonnes of debris are still being removed by workers from the ocean and from atop the immobile Dali, which was supposed to arrive at a port in Sri Lanka on Monday.
There are still 21 crew members aboard the ship, nearly all of whom are Indian, excluding two of the pilots. When the crew will disembark and return to sea is still unknown.
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