BALTIMORE (CN) — The owner and operator of the boat that destroyed Maryland’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March agreed Thursday to pay over $100 million to the federal government.
“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,” Justice Department Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said in a statement.
Less than a week after the March 26 crash, ship owner Grace Ocean and operator Synergy Marine, both based in Singapore, filed a petition hoping to cap liability at $44 million but now they must pay $102 million for the federal settlement while Maryland’s claims remain pending for the destruction of the state-owned bridge.
The settlement comes a little over a month after the Justice Department sued the companies for civil negligence, public nuisance and violations of the Rivers and Harbors Act and the Oil Pollution Act.
“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,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in a statement. “The prompt resolution of this matter also avoids the expense associated with litigating this complex case for potentially years.”
The settlement encompasses the costs of cleanup required after the nearly 300-foot vessel Dali blocked the Fort McHenry Channel, which connects the port of Baltimore to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. It took dozens of federal, state and local agencies until June 10 to clear around 50,000 tons of debris.
Grace Ocean already paid the Coast Guard National Pollution Fund Center nearly $100,000 for costs incurred to abate the threat of oil pollution.
The crash forced the construction of channels to help with the bottleneck at the port. The Justice Department accused the Singapore companies of cutting corners, leading to the crash that killed six construction workers.
“Wholly preventable failures by the owner and operator of the DALI caused this tragic incident that cost six bridge construction workers their lives and closed one of the largest ports on the East Coast,” Rear Admiral and Deputy for Operations Capability and Policy of the U.S. Coast Guard Laura M. Dickey said in a September statement.
Dali was leaving Baltimore bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka, with an ultimate destination of Yantian, China, when it lost power four minutes away from the bridge. Circuit breakers for the No. 1 step-down transformer tripped open. According to the government, the ship’s four means of stopping — its rudder, propeller, anchor and bow thruster — were all inoperable.
The backup transformer was disabled, leaving engineers mere minutes to manually reset the tripped circuit breakers for the first transformer in the dark.
Maritime regulations call for the backup generator to turn on in 45 seconds, but it took the Dali over a minute. The ship lost power again around a minute after it regained it. The government claims the owner and operator equipped the vessel with inefficient flushing pumps to fuel the diesel generators that made the ship’s electricity to save money. The ship’s bow thrusters failed to operate, allowing contact that ultimately collapsed the 45-year-old bridge.
Any funds Maryland recovers in their civil case will be used to reduce the project costs paid for by federal tax dollars. The families of three of the deceased construction workers, Baltimore County and Baltimore City, have also filed claims.
Ocean Grace and Synergy Marine representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
“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,” Mizer said. “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.”