Cargo ship owner to pay $102M for cleanup

The owner and operator of the cargo ship that caused the deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore has agreed to pay $102 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In September, the Justice Department filed a civil claim seeking more than $103 million from two Singaporean companies, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited. The settlement will cover the federal costs incurred to respond to the disaster, including clearing the bridge and ship debris to reopen the Fort McHenry Shipping Channel in June.

“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,” Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said in a statement Thursday. “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.”

Mizer had said the Dali’s owner and operator were “well aware” of the longstanding concerns with the ship’s electrical and mechanical systems but failed to take the necessary precautions “out of negligence, mismanagement, and, at times, a desire to cut costs.” Court documents revealed that excessive vibrations on the vessel damaged the ship’s systems, causing its switchboards and transformers to fail.

More than 50 federal, state, and local agencies worked together to remove about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and asphalt from the channel and the Dali after the March 26 collapse, according to the Justice Department. The bridge collapse shut down the nation’s largest vehicle-handling port and ninth-busiest port overall, posing a significant economic threat.

Authorities spent nearly three months clearing debris and establishing alternate routes for some marine traffic. The Fort McHenry Shipping Channel was restored to its original operational depth June 10.

Thursday’s settlement does not include any damages for reconstructing the Francis Scott Key Bridge, according to the Justice Department. The state of Maryland has estimated it will cost $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion to rebuild the bridge by 2028.

The state also has filed a separate claim against the Dali’s owner and operator for the cost of the bridge, the cleanup and environmental claims, among other costs. Money recovered by Maryland will be used to reduce project costs paid by the federal government, the Justice Department said.

What happened to the Francis Scott Key Bridge?

In the early morning of March 26, the Dali had left the Port of Baltimore and was bound for Sri Lanka when it struck one of the bridge’s support columns, causing the bridge to collapse and plunge into the water. Video footage captured the ship striking the bridge after appearing to lose power.

At the time of the incident, eight construction workers were fixing potholes on the bridge. Two were rescued and six were found dead.

The FBI opened a criminal investigation in April. In May, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report that the Dali had lost power twice before it crashed into the bridge.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit claimed the ship had been improperly maintained. Federal authorities said the ship lost power after circuit breakers tripped in a transformer.

Investigations:Ship operator in Baltimore bridge collapse had other deadly incidents

The transformer and circuit breakers had “long suffered the effects of heavy vibrations,” according to the Justice Department. The lawsuit further said that instead of taking steps to eliminate the cause of the vibrations, crew members “jury-rigged” the ship.

Crew members conducted “makeshift” changes to the equipment, including retrofitting the transformer with anti-vibration braces and placing a metal cargo hook between the transformer and a nearby steel beam in an attempt to limit the vibrations, according to the lawsuit. Federal prosecutors also noted that one of the anti-vibration braces had cracked and was repaired with welds before cracking again.

“The electrical and mechanical systems on the DALI were improperly maintained and configured in a way that violated safety regulations and norms for international shipping,” the lawsuit reads. “These problems precipitated a power loss and then a cascading series of failures that culminated in the allision.”

Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY; Reuters