Settlement Will Cover Federal Costs Incurred to Restore Access to The Port of Baltimore.
UPDATE 10/24/2024: The Justice Department announced today that Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singaporean corporations that owned and operated the Motor Vessel DALI, have agreed to pay $101,980,000 to resolve a civil claim brought by the United States for costs borne in responding to the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The settlement resolves the United States’ claims for civil damages for $103,078,056 under the Rivers and Harbors Act, Oil Pollution Act, and general maritime law. The settlement monies 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.
“Nearly seven months after one of the worst transportation disasters in recent memory, which claimed six lives and caused untold damage, we have reached an important milestone with today’s settlement,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “Thanks to the hard work of the Justice Department attorneys since day one of this disaster, we were able to secure this early settlement of our claim, just over one month into litigation. 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.”
“This is a tremendous outcome that fully compensates the United States for the costs it incurred in responding to this disaster and holds the owner and operator of the DALI accountable,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The prompt resolution of this matter also avoids the expense associated with litigating this complex case for potentially years.”
In the early morning hours of March 26, the Motor Vessel DALI left the Port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka. While navigating through the Fort McHenry Channel, the vessel lost power, regained power, and then lost power again before striking the bridge. The bridge collapsed and plunged into the water below, tragically killing six people. In addition to this heartbreaking loss of life, the wreck of the DALI and the remains of the bridge were left to obstruct the navigable channel, bringing all shipping into and out of the Port of Baltimore to a standstill. The loss of the bridge also severed a critical highway in the transportation infrastructure and blocked a key artery for local commuters.
The United States led the response efforts 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. While removal operations were underway, the United States set up temporary channels to start relieving the bottleneck at the port and mitigate some of the economic devastation caused by the DALI. The Fort McHenry Channel was cleared by June 10, and the Port of Baltimore was once again open for commercial navigation.
On Sept. 18, the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, seeking over $100 million in damages from Grace Ocean and Synergy. The Department’s claim was part of a legal action that the vessel companies filed shortly after the tragedy, in which they seek exoneration or limitation of their liability to approximately $43.7 million. Today’s settlement is in addition to $97,294 recently paid by Grace Ocean to the Coast Guard National Pollution Fund Center for costs incurred to abate the threat of oil pollution arising from the incident.
The settlement does not include any damages for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The State of Maryland built, owned, maintained, and operated the bridge, and attorneys on the state’s behalf filed their own claim for those damages. Pursuant to the governing regulation, funds recovered by the State of Maryland for reconstruction of the bridge will be used to reduce the project costs paid for in the first instance by federal tax dollars.
The resolution of the civil matter was handled by attorneys from the Civil Division’s Aviation, Space & Admiralty Litigation Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division.
UPDATE: On March 26, 2024, the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) in Baltimore suffered a catastrophic collapse after the Singapore-flagged container ship “Dali” collided with one of its support pillars. The collision occurred around 1:28 a.m. and resulted in a mass casualty incident.
Following the incident, search and rescue operations were immediately launched, involving multiple local and federal agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Maryland State Police, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Recovery efforts were challenging due to the extensive debris field in the water.
Six bodies were recovered, and two people were rescued,: one uninjured, the other transported to a hospital in critical condition. The Francis Scott Key Bridge, which spanned the Patapsco River and was part of Baltimore’s Outer Harbor Crossing, was the longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Originally built as a steel arch-shaped continuous through-truss structure, its main span measured 1,200 feet, making it one of the longest continuous trusses in the world.
The incident has led to significant legal action, with families of the victims and labor organizations filing lawsuits against the shipping company and possibly bridge oversight agencies, alleging negligence in both the vessel’s navigation and bridge safety protocols.
Ongoing investigations are expected to examine the structural integrity of the bridge and the circumstances surrounding the collision to identify contributing factors and prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Hours after the collapse, President Joe Biden said that the federal government would pay for the entire cost of reconstructing the bridge.[46] On May 2, 2024, Maryland Department of Transportation officials said they plan to replace the bridge by autumn 2028 at an estimated cost of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion.[7]
On Tuesday, March 26, 2024, at 1:28 a.m., the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) completely collapsed after a Singapore flagged container ship “Dali” collided with a support pillar.
The collapse has cited a mass casualty incident resulting in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, along with search and rescue teams from the U.S Coast Guard, Maryland State Police Aviation Command Troopers 1, Trooper 6, and Department of Natural Resources, MDTA are on the scene.
As of 2:00 a.m., rescue crews are reporting at least 8 construction workers were on the bridge, one was recovered from the water. 7 are still missing along with an unknown number of vehicles that were on the bridge during the collapse.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge, known originally as the Outer Harbor Crossing until it was renamed in 1977 or simply as the Key Bridge or Beltway Bridge, was a steel arch-shaped continuous through truss bridge spanning the lower Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor / Port carrying Maryland Route 695 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The main span of 1,200 feet (366 m) was the third longest span of any continuous truss in the world. It was the longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area.
