News / $102m settlement agreed in first case after MV Dali's Baltimore bridge crash

Photo: US Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Alejandro Rivera

The US has settled its civil case against the owner and operator of the MV Dali, which crashed into a Baltimore bridge in March. 

The Justice Department announced that Singapore firms Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine will pay nearly $102m to settle the claim for costs related to damage to the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The settlement is just shy of the $103m claimed and will be split between US treasury and federal agencies directly impacted by the allision. 

“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 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 clean-up efforts in the Fort McHenry Channel are borne by Grace Ocean and Synergy and not the American taxpayer.” 

The two Singaporean companies face some 60 court cases in the US related to the incident. And the US claim, now been dismissed, can be reinstated if settlement is not made in 60 days.  

The MV Dali, leaving the port of Baltimore for Sri Lanka, lost power, regained it, and lost it again before hitting the bridge, which collapsed. Six people died in the incident, which bought the port to a standstill with the channel obstructed and a critical highway blocked. Some 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and asphalt had to be removed from the channel and the ship. 

The DoJ filed its lawsuit on 18 September, after an attempt by Grace Ocean and Synergy to limit their liability to $43.7m. The settlement is on top of a $87,294 payment already made to the Coast Guard National Pollution Fund Center to limit pollution. 

The settlement will not be used to repair the bridge, those costs are in a separate claim from the state of Maryland, which built, maintained and operated the bridge.