Business, Feature, Freight News, Sea

Dali Owner, Operator to pay $102 Million

[ October 25, 2024   //   Gary G Burrows ]

The U.S. Justice Department said Oct. 24 that the owner and operator of the container vessel Dali, have agreed to pay US$102 million to resolve a civil claim brought by the U.S. for costs borne in responding to the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Port of Baltimore.
The settlement against Singaporean corporations Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and Synergy Marine Private Ltd., resolves the U.S. claims for civil damages for US$103.1 million under the Rivers and Harbors Act, Oil Pollution Act, and general maritime law. Funds from the settlement will go to the U.S. Treasury and to the budgets of several federal agencies directly affected by the allision or involved in the response.
“We were able to secure this early settlement of our claim, just over one month into litigation,” said Benjamin C. Mizer, principal deputy associate attorney general. “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.”
The settlement “fully compensates the U.S. for the costs it incurred in responding to this disaster and holds the owner and operator of the Dali accountable,” said Brian M. Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
The Dali left the Port of Baltimore in the early hours of March 26, bound for Sri Lanka. While navigating through the Fort McHenry Channel, the vessel lost power, regained power, and then lost power again before striking the bridge.
The bridge collapsed and plunged into the water below, killing six people. The wrecked vessel and the bridge’s remains obstructed the navigable channel, halting all shipping into and out of the Port of Baltimore, and severing a critical highway and blocked a key artery for local commuters.
The U.S. led the response efforts of dozens of federal, state, and local agencies to remove about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and asphalt from the channel and from the Dali. The U.S, set up temporary channels to relieve the bottleneck at the port and mitigate some of the economic devastation caused by the Dali. The Fort McHenry Channel was cleared by June 10, and the Port of Baltimore was once again open for commercial navigation.
On Sept. 18, the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, seeking more than US$100 million in damages from Grace Ocean and Synergy. Justice’s claim was part of a legal action that the vessel companies filed shortly after the tragedy, in which they sought exoneration or limitation of their liability to about US$43.7 million. The US$103 million settlement is in addition to US$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.
The settlement does not include any damages for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The State of Maryland built, owned, maintained and operated the bridge, and attorneys on the state’s behalf filed their own claim for those damages. Funds recovered by the State of Maryland for reconstruction of the bridge will be used to reduce the project costs paid for in the first instance by federal tax dollars.
Resolution of the civil matter was handled by attorneys from the Civil Division’s Aviation, Space & Admiralty Litigation Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division.

Tags: Grace Ocean Private Ltd, Synergy Marine Private Ltd., U.S. Justice Department