The owner and operator of the cargo ship that struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, killing six people, have agreed to pay $102m to the federal government, the US justice department said on Thursday.
The department in September filed a civil claim seeking $103m from two Singaporean companies, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited.
The claim was intended to recoup the money the US government spent responding to the disaster and clearing the wreck of the Dali ship and bridge debris from the Port of Baltimore so the waterway could reopen in June.
Principal deputy associate attorney general Benjamin Mizer said the settlement “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”.
More details soon …