The Singaporean shipping companies that own and operate the vessel that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March have agreed to pay $102 million in civil penalties over the costs of responding to its collapse.
Owner Grace Ocean Private Limited and operator Synergy Marine Private Limited agreed to the settlement just one month after the Department of Justice slapped the company with a civil suit—one of multiple legal claims the companies are currently fighting.
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On March 26, a 985-foot Maersk-chartered container ship, the Dali, lost power twice on its course on the Patapsco River in the early morning, before colliding with one of the bridge’s columns. The ensuing collapse resulted in the deaths of six people, and cut off access to the Port of Baltimore for more two months. The loss of the bridge also severed a critical highway in the transportation infrastructure and blocked a key artery for local commuters.
In a statement, principal deputy associate attorney general Benjamin Mizer called the settlement “an important milestone.”
“This resolution ensures that the costs of the federal government’s cleanup efforts in the Fort McHenry Channel are borne by Grace Ocean and Synergy and not the American taxpayer,” said Mizer.
Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s civil division, called the decision a “tremendous outcome” that holds both parties accountable for the disaster.
“The prompt resolution of this matter also avoids the expense associated with litigating this complex case for potentially years,” Boynton said.
The settlement resolves the U.S.’ claims for civil damages for $103.1 million under the Rivers and Harbors Act, Oil Pollution Act, and general maritime law. The settlement payments will go to the U.S. Treasury and to the budgets of several federal agencies directly affected by the allision or involved in the response.
The Justice Department identified some of the response efforts, including the coordination of dozens of federal, state, and local agencies to remove about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the channel and from the Dali itself.
Both Grace Ocean and Synergy had hoped to initially limit their legal liability for the accident, initially filing to cap their joint penalty at roughly $43.7 million. This “limitation of liability” petition is a routine procedure for cases litigated under U.S. maritime law.
Grace Ocean also recently paid more than $97,000 to the Coast Guard National Pollution Fund Center for costs to combat potential oil pollution arising from the incident.
In a preliminary report updated in June, federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board said the Dali’s electrical and mechanical systems were improperly maintained and configured in a way that violated safety regulations and norms for international shipping. The DOJ lawsuit indicates that the Dali’s prior captain reported these problems to Synergy as early as May 2023.
The Department of Justice was one of many parties that sought litigation against the owner-operator duo in the months after the incident.
Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott and the city’s council filed the first major lawsuit back in April, alleging criminal negligence in the accident. Like the DOJ case, the city’s suit contends that both companies knew that the Dali was “unseaworthy” to float in U.S. waters ahead of its route.
Maryland attorney general Anthony Brown, on behalf of the state and all its agencies, followed up with a September lawsuit. Brown sued the companies for damages including replacing the bridge; lost toll revenues after the collapse; costs associated with emergency response, salvage, demolition and benefits paid to affected workers and businesses; environmental damages; increased “wear and tear” on infrastructure and more.
The DOJ settlement does not include any damages for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, since the state of Maryland filed their own claim.
Later that month, three local Baltimore-based branches of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) filed a class-action lawsuit against the Singaporean businesses, with the union dockworkers arguing they should compensate them for wages lost while the port was closed in the aftermath of the disaster.
The families of multiple victims of the bridge’s collapse, as well as local businesses and insurance companies, have also filed claims against Grace Ocean and Synergy. These suits have since been consolidated with the city’s lawsuit into one extensive liability case.
As for the Dali, the ship was refloated from the Key Bridge wreckage site in May to the Port of Virginia, and underwent extensive repairs there before it departed on Sept. 19. The vessel is en route to China’s Port of Ningbo and is expected to reach the hub in early November.
