$102 million! The shipowner finally agreed to pay compensation!
Sunny Worldwide LogisticsIt is a logistics company with more than 20 years of transportation experience, specializing in markets such as Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia. It is more of a cargo owner than a cargo owner~
Recently, the owners and operators of cargo ships involved in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore reached a settlement with the U.S. government and agreed to pay US2 million (equivalent to approximately RMB 730 million) to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In the early morning of March 26, local time, the "Daly" container ship flying the Singapore flag hit the "Francis Scott Key" Bridge in Baltimore due to loss of power, causing the steel bridge to collapse.
Eight construction workers were repairing potholes on the bridge when the accident occurred. Two of them were rescued, while six others died.
The bridge collapse closed the nation's largest vehicle loading port and ninth busiest port, posing a major threat to the economy.
Federal, state and local agencies responded intensively, with authorities spending more than 0 million in efforts to remove approximately 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and debris from the waterway in the months following the incident.
A temporary channel was established to ease port congestion until the Fort McHenry channel reopened on June 10.
In September this year, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil claim demanding that the owners and operators of the DALI ship, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, pay more than US2 million.
The settlement will cover the cost of the federal government's response to the disaster, including clearing bridges and shipwrecks in order to reopen the Fort McHenry Channel in June.
"Nearly seven months after one of the worst transportation disasters in recent history, we reach an important milestone with today's settlement," Chief Deputy Attorney General Benjamin Mizell said in a statement Thursday. milestone.”
“This resolution ensures that the federal government’s cleanup efforts in the Fort McHenry Channel are paid for by Grace Ocean and Synergy, not American taxpayers.”
Mizell claimed that the owners and operators of the DALI were "well aware" of long-standing problems with the ship's electrical and mechanical systems, but failed to take the necessary steps "due to negligence, mismanagement and a desire to reduce costs." Precautions.
Excessive vibrations on the ship damaged the ship's systems, causing switchboards and transformers to fail, court documents show.
The settlement resolves U.S. claims under the Rivers and Ports Act, the Oil Pollution Act and general maritime law, totaling 2 million. The funds will be distributed to the U.S. Treasury Department and various federal agencies involved in the rescue.
The settlement does not include the cost of rebuilding the bridge, which the state of Maryland, the bridge's owner and operator, is seeking in a separate legal claim. Funds recovered by Maryland will be used to reduce project costs borne by federal taxpayers.
The ship's owner, Grace Ocean Private Limited, has paid ,294 to the U.S. Coast Guard's National Pollution Fund Center to cover oil pollution cleanup costs resulting from the incident.
Shortly after the accident, the ship's owner and operator filed legal action seeking to be exempted from liability or limit their liability to approximately million.
Although the owner of the "DALI" has agreed to reach a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the incident has not yet come to an end. Recently, US coal giant Consol Energy joined the ranks of claims.
According to reports, Consol Energy has filed a lawsuit against Grace Ocean, the Singaporean owner of the container ship "Dali" and the ship management company Synergy Marine, with a claim amount of more than US0 million.
The company noted in a court filing that the collapse of the Baltimore bridge killed six people and cut off its Baltimore coal export terminal from international markets during the eight-week closure of the Patapsco River.
Mark Stiller, legal representative for Consol Energy, said the company exports about 65% to 70% of its coal overseas, with much of it shipped through the Consol Marine terminal in Baltimore.
The Consol Marine terminal was forced to close operations due to traffic disruptions, limiting the company's ability to ship coal overseas.
Consol Energy accuses Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine of negligence and is seeking 0 million in damages including lost revenue from being unable to export, as well as lost terminal fees, warehousing fees and reduced mining operations at the Pennsylvania mining complex.
Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine are not sitting still in response to this accusation. The two companies responded publicly through spokesman Darrell Wilson, calling many of the accusations against them "inaccurate and inflammatory" and firmly denying that the Dali lost power the day before the accident.
Darrell Wilson also cited the testimony of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Jennifer Homendy, emphasizing that the mechanical problems before the incident were "completely separate issues" from the bridge collision itself and had nothing to do with the accident.
