The US Department of Justice has announced a $101.98 million settlement with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, two Singapore-based companies, over a civil lawsuit stemming from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge (pictured) in Baltimore.
The settlement addresses the costs incurred by the United States in response to the March 26 incident. It does not cover any reconstruction expenses for the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Since the bridge is owned and maintained by the State of Maryland, the state has filed its own claim, with any funds recouped by the state offsetting federal contributions to the reconstruction costs.
Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer noted: “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 [this] settlement.
“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.”
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the civil division, described the settlement as “a tremendous outcome” fully compensating the US for the incident response costs and holding the owner and operator of the motor vessel DALI accountable.
Following the crash that led to the bridge’s collapse, the US government led a large-scale response involving federal, state, and local agencies to remove around 50,000 tons of debris, including steel, concrete, and asphalt, from the channel and the ship.
Temporary channels were cleared to alleviate the bottleneck at the Port of Baltimore before the full restoration of the Fort McHenry Channel on June 10.
Meanwhile, on top of the settlement, Grace Ocean recently paid $97,294 to the Coast Guard National Pollution Fund Center for costs related to managing potential oil pollution from the incident.
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