Singapore firms to pay £78m over Baltimore bridge disaster
The US 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 £78 million in compensation to the American authorities for causing the disaster.
25 October 2024 08:44
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the settlement on Thursday. Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Private Ltd., based in Singapore, will allocate £79 million 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, including that of the state of Maryland.
This is an excellent result that fully compensates the United States for the costs incurred due to the disaster and holds the owner and operator of the Dali accountable. A quick resolution of the case will also avoid costs associated with legal proceedings in this complex matter, which could have lasted for years, assessed Brian M. Boynton, Deputy Attorney General of the USA, quoted by NBC News.
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 manoeuvrability.
Removed 50,000 tonnes of steel, concrete, and tarmac from the channel
As argued by 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 motorway in the region's transportation infrastructure.
- The United States conducted rescue operations, coordinating federal, state, and local agencies' efforts to remove approximately 50,000 tonnes of steel, concrete, and tarmac from the channel and the Dali itself, stated the DOJ.
