U.S. reaches $100M settlement over Baltimore bridge

Two Singaporean shipping companies on Thursday agreed to pay the U.S. government more than $101 million to settle a civil claim over the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the deal on Thursday, saying that the money would go to various federal agencies affected by the incident or involved in the response. The U.S. government originally asked for roughly $103 million in damages.

What happened? In the early morning hours of March 26, the shipping vessel Dali crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. The crash killed six highway maintenance workers. It also destroyed the bridge. The National Transportation Safety Board released a report showing that power blackouts and an engine failure contributed to the crash.

What happened to the boat? The ship left Baltimore for Norfolk, Va., in June. The container ship took that voyage under military escort, delivering roughly 1,500 cargo containers along the way. The ship was set to receive repairs in Norfolk.

So are the owners of the ship free of legal consequences now? The City of Baltimore has filed its own lawsuit against the companies that managed the Dali. The Justice Department on Thursday acknowledged that that lawsuit was still ongoing.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew about how funds to repair the bridge have run into roadblocks.