Owner-operator of vessel that destroyed Baltimore bridge to pay over $100M in damages

The U.S. Justice Department announced 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 US$101,980,000 to resolve a civil claim brought by the U.S. for costs borne in responding to the catastrophic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The settlement resolves the U.S.’s claims for civil damages for US$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.”

The U.S. Department of Justice said 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.

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 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.

On Sept. 18, the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, seeking more than US$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 US$43.7 million. The settlement is in addition to US$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.