Ship Dali owner and manager acquiesce to $102 million settlement for collision with Baltimore bridge.

• Grace Ocean Private Ltd and Synergy Marine Private Ltd, owners and managers of the ship Dali, have agreed to pay nearly $102 million to resolve a civil claim brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) in Maryland.
• The ship’s collision was largely due to two onboard blackouts caused by poor engineering and safety practices, which led to the ship’s propulsion system, rudder, and bow thruster inoperable.
• The DoJ claim mainly covered the salvage operation, bridge wreckage clearing, and the clearing of the water channel to the Baltimore port.
• Synergy and Grace Ocean will continue to pursue its original limited liability claim of $43 million against which the DoJ had claimed the damages.
• The settlement does not include any damages for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
• Some 45 claims for damages have been filed in U.S. courts regarding Francis Scott bridge damage, with some 40 relating to purely economic losses.