BALTIMORE — Just hours after the U.S. Department of Justice handed down a criminal indictment against the DALI ship owners related to its March 2024 crash into Baltimore's Key Bridge, the State of Maryland finalized a civil settlement worth $2.25 billion.
WMAR reported on the initial settlement last month, but the amount was not disclosed.
The case stems from a lawsuit the state filed back in September of 2024 alleging negligence and incompetence on the part of Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd.
The DALI crash left six construction workers dead, also causing Maryland to endure millions in financial losses.
While Grace Ocean and Synergy have denied any wrongdoing, they've also agreed to settle a similar lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice for $101,980,000 million. Maryland is still pursuing legal action against the ship's builders, Hyundai Heavy Industries.
As it stands now, the price tag to rebuild the bridge is between $4.3 and $5.2 billion, with an anticipated completion date of 2030.
Last December the NTSB officially ruled the crash was caused by "a loss of electrical power (blackout), due to a loose signal wire connection to a terminal block stemming from the improper installation of wire-label banding."
These civil cases are separate from the criminal indictment announced Tuesday.
“The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sent shockwaves through Maryland and caused damages on a scale this State had never seen,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. “This $2.25 billion settlement reflects the full measure of accountability we were able to secure from the vessel interests -- and our pursuit of justice is not finished. We will continue to press our claims against the shipbuilder whose fault helped bring this bridge down.”
