Friday, October 25, 2024

Shipping firms to pay $102M over Baltimore bridge collapse

The US government last month sued the Singapore-based firms behind the MV Dali, which crashed into the Baltimore bridge. The suit aimed to cover the costs of the government's massive cleanup efforts.

Plans to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge could cost close to $2 billion, officials sayImage: Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun/ZUMA/picture alliance

The owner and manager of the massive container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March have agreed to pay nearly $102 million (€94 million) to resolve a civil claim brought by the US government.

The money will go toward covering the costs of the massive clean-up operation to remove about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the channel and from the ship itself.
What happened to the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore?

The 100,000-plus-ton ship, the MV Dali, slammed into the bridge in the early hours of March 26, as a work crew was fixing potholes.

Six construction workers died in the incident as the bridge went crumbling down into the water below. The nearly two dozen crew members on the boat survived.

The deadly crash stopped most maritime traffic for months at the busy port, which is one of the largest on the US East Coast.

Last month, the US Justice Department sued Dali's owner, Grace Ocean Ltd., and manager, Synergy Marine Group, both of which are based in Singapore, seeking to recover the costs of the sprawling emergency response to the disaster.

US seeking damages to cover costs of response


Officials from the US Justice Department hailed the settlement, but state officials are still working on their own case.

"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 C. Mizer said in a statement.

As part of the settlement, the Department of Justice agreed to drop its lawsuit, which had demanded a similar amount.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said last month that the costs of cleaning the channel ought to be borne "by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer."


Why did the MV Dali crash?


The civil suit does not include any damages for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The state of Maryland has filed its own claim seeking those damages, officials said.

The civil lawsuit filed last month also provides one of the most detailed accounts of the failures that led to the ship's short journey on the morning of March 26.

The Justice Department alleged in the suit that the electrical and mechanical systems on the ship, which was bound for Sri Lanka, were improperly maintained.

The ship subsequently lost power and veered off course before it struck a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March.

rm/zc (Reuters, AP, AFP)

Owner/Operator of Dali Agree to Py U.S. $102M in Baltimore Recovery Cts

Dali Baltimore wreckage
The owner and operator of the Dali agreed to settle U.S. federal claims for the cost of the recovery operation (USCG)

Published Oct 24, 2024 8:55 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

[Updated to include a statement from Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine]


In a surprise development coming just a month after the United States filed suit against the owners and operators of the containership Dali for the costs of the federal recovery efforts in Baltimore, the case has been settled. Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine agreed to pay the federal government $101,980,000 to resolve the civil claim for the costs of the recovery after the Dali hit and destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The settlement is only a small part of the massive legal claims the owners and operators face for the March 2024 allision of the containership that killed six people and destroyed the bridge. The companies shortly after the incident had tried to invoke a law that would have limited their liability to approximately $43.7 million in total.

Today’s settlement only covers the federal civil suit claim for the cleanup expenses. The City of Baltimore has also filed suit and the State of Maryland which owned the bridge has filed a claim including seeking the replacement cost of the bridge which could run as high as $2 billion. Families of the victims and businesses impacted by the loss of the bridge and the closing of the harbor for months have also entered claims and a criminal investigation is ongoing based on investigations that found faults in the ship’s electrical systems and maintenance. 

The owners and operators of the Dali issued a statement highlighting that the federal government’s claim was unique and significantly different from other claims, as it fell outside the usual limitation of liability framework. They also noted that no punitive damages were imposed as part of the settlement.

"The settlement strictly covers costs related to clearing the channel, which we would have been responsible for in any case, and is not indicative of any liability, which we expressly reject for the incident that led to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge," said Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine in a written statement to the Maritime Executive.

Officials from the U.S. Justice Department emphasized the quick resolution of their claim. They also said the settlement ensures Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, not the American taxpayer bore the cost of the cleanup and recovery. The Department of Justice filed its claim as part of the case in Maryland’s court on September 18 seeking just over $103 million as the costs of the recovery operations.

“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.”

Today’s settlement goes to the U.S. treasury and is applied to the budgets of several federal agencies directly affected by the allision or involved in the response. It is in addition to $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.

Lawyers for Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine earlier this week filed with the Maryland court proposing a January 2027 trial. Plaintiffs including the Department of Justice are proposing a December 2025 trial.

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