In a landmark legal decision following the collision at Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this year, the owners and operators of the cargo ship “Dali” have agreed to pay over $100 million in settlement costs.
In April, the FBI launched a criminal investigation into the collision that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge to ultimately collapse, resulting in six fatalities.
The investigation examined the events leading to the collision and whether federal laws were followed during the response to the crash, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The recent legal settlement from the owners of the “Dali,” which was finalized earlier this week, resolved a lawsuit initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice against the Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Group companies. According to Fox 4 News, both implicated companies were connected to the “Dali,” a cargo ship originally based in Singapore and flying the Singaporean flag during time of impact.
The Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, when the ship, reportedly suffering from a multitude of different mechanical failures, lost power and struck a crucial support column of the bridge.
The crash and following failure of support columns on the bridge not only led to a complete planned demolition of the crumpled structure, as previously reported by DX, but also severely disrupted shipping traffic at the Port of Baltimore for months with full operations in the area only resuming in June.
The ship’s collision resulted in the deaths of six construction workers who were actively working on the bridge during the impact.
Additionally, 4,000 tons of debris fell into the water and onto the cargo ship itself during the impact, further complicating rescue and relief missions within the area.
The most recent lawsuit against the “Dali” focused on the inadequate maintenance of the ship’s electrical and mechanical systems, again citing their faulty systems as key factors for the ship’s loss of power which greatly contributed to the crash.