Ship owner agrees to pay $102m over Baltimore bridge collapse that killed six
Wikipedia Commons
The owner and operator of a ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge in March, leaving six dead, will pay the US a $100m settlement.
The US justice department announced on Thursday that Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singapore-based corporations that owned and operated the Dali agreed to the $101,980,000 sum, settling a lawsuit over the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s catastrophic collapse.
[...]
The justice department civil claim, filed in September, accused the owner and operator of ignoring electrical problems on the ship. Prosecutors alleged that because the Dali’s mechanical and electrical systems were poorly maintained, the vessel lost power, traveled off course and then struck the bridge.
A large portion of this major road bridge fell into the river, killing half a dozen construction workers. Authorities spent more than $100m to clean up underwater debris and reopen Baltimore’s port.
“This tragedy was entirely avoidable,” the lawsuit said.
[...]
The victims’ families have called for stronger worker protections, especially for immigrant laborers. All the victims were Latino immigrants who moved to the US for better-paying work and greater opportunities.
[...]