WASHINGTON (AP) — The owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse have agreed to pay more than $102 million in cleanup costs to settle a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department, officials said Thursday. The settlement does not cover any damages for rebuilding the bridge, officials said in a news release announcing the agreement. That construction project could cost close to $2 billion.
The state of Maryland has filed its own claim seeking those damages, among others. The settlement comes a month after the Justice Department sued the ship’s owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and manager Synergy Marine Group, both based in Singapore, seeking to recover funds from the cleanup.
The Justice Department alleged that the electrical and mechanical systems on the ship, the Dali, were improperly maintained , causing it to lose power and veer off course before striking a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March. The ship was leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of the power loss. Six men on a road crew, who were filling potholes during an overnight shift, fell to their deaths.
Cleanup crews worked around the clock searching for bodies and removing thousands of tons of mangled steel and smashed concrete from the bottom of the Patapsco River. The Dali remained stuck amid the wreckage for almost two months, with collapsed steel trusses draped across the ship’s damaged bow. “This resolution ensures that.