A month after it was filed, the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the companies that owned and operated the cargo ship Dali has been settled for over $100 million.
The $102 million settlement reached on October 24 will go to the U.S. Treasury and to the budgets of federal agencies directly affected by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore or involved in the response, the DOJ says.
Over $100 million in costs were incurred by the federal government in responding to the bridge collapse. This includes clearing the entangled wreck and bridge debris from the navigable channel so the port could reopen, removing about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and asphalt in the process.
The department’s claim is part of a legal action initiated by the owners of Dali seeking exoneration or limitation of its liability to approximately $44 million.
Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, based in Singapore, owned and operated the container ship Dali that destroyed the Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, killing six construction workers.
In its filing, the Justice Department alleged that the crash – caused by a loss of power on the ship – was the result of negligence by the ship’s owners and that several systems were not working properly when it attempted to leave port just before the crash. The Justice Department also alleged the propeller, rudder, anchor and bow thruster were all not in working order and could not be used to avoid the crash.
The DOJ’s lawsuit is just one of several that Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine has faced this year, including from the families of three workers killed in the bridge crash, the State of Maryland, the contractor that employed the six men killed in the crash, an inspector who was supervising repairs on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when the crash occurred and an Australian yacht broker.
