The US Justice announced this Thursday that it has reached an agreement of almost 102 million dollars (about 94 million euros) with the owner and operator of the ship that collided with the Baltimore bridge to resolve a civil lawsuit filed by the country for the costs assumed in response to the collapse of that infrastructure.
The Department of Justice indicated in a statement that Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, both of Singapore, have agreed to pay 101.9 million.
The money will go to the Treasury Department and the budgets of several federal agencies directly involved in the response to what happened.
The cargo ship DALI, a 300-meter-long ship flying the Singapore flag, was leaving the port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka when collided in the early hours of March 26 with one of the pillars in the central segment of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on the Patapsco River.
Six workers carrying out maintenance work on the bridge died as a result of the collapse. The victims were two Mexicans, two Guatemalans, one Honduran and one Salvadoran.
“Nearly seven months after one of the worst transportation disasters in recent memory, which claimed six lives and caused untold damage, we have reached an important milestone with today’s settlement,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Benjamin Mizer.
The United States mobilized federal, state and local agencies to remove about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and asphalt both the channel and DALI itself.
On September 18, the Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit in the District Court for the District of Maryland seeking approximately $103 million in damages. As specified in this Thursday’s statement, the agreement does not include damages from the reconstruction of the bridge.
The recovery of maritime traffic
The Baltimore Harbor access channel, 700 feet (213 meters) wide and 50 feet (15 meters) deep, was completely clear June 10 and since then it has been operational to recover commercial maritime traffic prior to the accident.
The reconstruction of the bridge will take about four years to complete and its cost is estimated between 1.7 and 1.9 billion dollars, according to what local authorities announced in May.
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