(The Center Square) – The Justice Department has reached a settlement of over $100 million with the owners and operators of the cargo ship that collided with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the deadly collapse.
The DOJ made the announcement Thursday, stating the Singapore-based corporations Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, which owned and operated the cargo vessel DALI, have agreed to pay $101,980,000 to resolve a civil claim filed by the federal government in September for “costs borne in responding to the catastrophic collapse” of the bridge.
The DOJ said the settlement “resolves” the federal government’s “claims for civil damages for $103,078,056 under the Rivers and Harbors Act, Oil Pollution Act” and general maritime law. The money will go to the U.S. Treasury Department and the budgets of several agencies that were directly affected by the allision or involved in the response.
The March 26 collision and collapse halted shipping traffic, causing ports to slow or halt until the channel fully reopened in June.
The crash claimed the lives of six construction workers repairing the bridge at the time of the collapse. The victims’ families have also filed suit against the owner and manager of the Dali, holding them liable for the accident.
Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer applauded the speed with which the settlement was resolved, ensuring that American taxpayers would not foot the bill for cleanup efforts.
“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,” said Mizer in a statement.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, echoed Mizer’s statement, adding that the quick resolution would avoid added legal expenses.
“The prompt resolution of this matter also avoids the expense associated with litigating this complex case for potentially years,” said Boynton.
The DOJ’s lawsuit detailed the actions that led up to the incident, saying the ship’s owner and manager “sent an ill-prepared crew on an abjectly unseaworthy vessel to navigate” the nation’s waterways.
In addition, the litigation claimed the ship’s owner and manager were reaping the “benefit of conducting business in American ports” while “they cut corners in ways that risked the lives and infrastructure.”
The bridge collapse “severed a critical highway,” blocking a key artery for commuters and commercial trucking.
The DOJ added that the settlement is in addition to over $97,000 Grace Ocean paid to the Coast Guard National Pollution Fund Center for costs incurred to “abate the threat of oil pollution” from the incident.
Thursday’s settlement doesn’t include any damages for the reconstruction of the bridge, which was built, owned and maintained by the State of Maryland. Attorneys on behalf of the state have filed their own claims for those damages.
