$102 million settlement reached for Key Bridge collision
The U.S. Department of Justice has reached an agreement with Singaporean companies that own the container ship Dali, which collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, in March. They will pay over $100 million in compensation to the American authorities for causing the disaster.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the settlement on Thursday. Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Private Ltd., based in Singapore, will allocate $101,980,000 to satisfy Washington's claims.
The money will go to the state treasury and other federal agencies that were directly affected by the incident or involved in the process of removing the damages. However, the compensation does not include many civil lawsuits, such as that of the state of Maryland.
The container ship Dali hit the Key Bridge on March 26 after leaving the Port of Baltimore on its way to Sri Lanka. Before the collision, the ship lost maneuverability.
Removed 50,000 metric tons of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the channel
According to the Department of Justice, the wreck of the ship, which could not be removed, blocked the channel for several months, halting freight traffic to and from the Port of Baltimore. The disaster also caused a blockage of traffic on a stretch of a crucial highway in the region's transportation infrastructure.
- The United States conducted rescue operations, coordinating federal, provincial, and local agencies' efforts to remove approximately 50,000 metric tons of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the channel and the Dali itself, stated the DOJ.
