According to foreign media reports, the U.S. state of Maryland has reached a $2.25 billion settlement agreement with the owner and operator of the container ship “Dali,” marking the largest legal recovery in maritime history and a significant milestone following the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
The agreement resolves Maryland’s claims against Singapore’s Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Private Ltd., which are respectively the owner and operator of the Singapore-flagged cargo ship “Dali.”
On March 26, 2024, the vessel struck the bridge, causing its collapse and killing six construction workers.
On Tuesday, the law firm Kelley Drye & Warren announced the settlement, which served as co-counsel for Maryland alongside the Maryland Attorney General’s Office and several external law firms.
It is reported that the recovery covers claims related to damage to the bridge, environmental harm, loss of toll revenue, disruption of operations at the Port of Baltimore, and broader economic losses across the state.
“This settlement is a critical step in making Maryland whole again,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said in April when announcing the agreement in principle.
The final compensation amount far exceeds the approximately $43.7 million liability cap sought by Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851.
This maritime law allows shipowners to limit their liability to the value of the vessel after an accident.
The settlement was reached just weeks before trial proceedings were set to begin to determine whether the ship’s owner and operator could invoke these protections.
The agreement resolves Maryland’s claims against the ship’s owner and operator, but the state retains claims against other potential liable parties, including issues related to the vessel’s design and modifications.
This week, the legal and technical battles surrounding the accident intensified further, as federal prosecutors announced criminal charges against Synergy Marine, related management entities, and technical主管 Radhakrishnan Kalickal Nair.
Prosecutors allege that the companies knowingly allowed the “Dali” to operate with safety-compromising modifications that destroyed critical electrical redundancy systems onboard, leading to power outages that caused the vessel to lose propulsion and steering before the collision.
According to the indictment, investigators stated that the operators relied on flushing pumps not designed to automatically restart after a power outage, resulting in a second blackout following the initial electrical failure.
Shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries separately accused the vessel’s operators of bypassing built-in safety redundancy systems after delivery, replacing automatic fuel supply pumps with a flushing pump configuration lacking redundancy.
The National Transportation Safety Board had previously determined that a loose signal wire in the high-voltage switchboard was the cause of the initial power outage on the nearly 1,000-foot-long container ship.
The bridge collapse closed the Port of Baltimore for weeks, disrupting regional supply chains and forcing over 34,000 vehicles daily to take detours.
Total economic losses related to the disaster are estimated to exceed $5 billion, while the cost to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge is projected to be between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion, with completion expected around 2030.
William Jackson, a partner at Kelley Drye & Warren who served as Maryland’s assistant legal counsel, called the settlement “historic” and praised the legal team that secured the compensation for the state and its agencies.
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