After $100 million federal settlement, DALI's owners claim they are "not responsible" for Key Bridge collapse, vow to fight remaining lawsuits
BALTIMORE -- Saturday will mark seven months since the Key Bridge collapsed, and the DALI's owners reached their first major settlement in the disaster, agreeing to pay $101,980,000 to the federal government in a deal with the Department of Justice.
All of that money will go to the U.S. Treasury to be disbursed to the agencies that paid for the cleanup.
"This resolution ensures that the costs of the federal government's cleanup efforts in the Fort McHenry Channel are borne by Grace Ocean and Synergy and not the American taxpayer," said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer.
The settlement does not impact the many other lawsuits including by Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and the state of Maryland—where damages could run into the billions.
DALI's Owner Vows to Fight Other Lawsuits
Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for the DALI's owners, said in a statement, "The settlement strictly covers costs related to clearing the channel, which we would have been responsible for in any case, and is not indicative of any liability, which we expressly reject for the incident that led to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge."
He noted the government did not receive any punitive damages.
The owners want to limit their liability to $43.7 million, the value of the ship and its cargo, citing maritime law that dates back to the Titanic.
"Grace Ocean and Synergy are prepared to vigorously defend themselves in the limitation of liability proceedings pending before the federal court in Baltimore and to establish that they were not responsible for the incident," Wilson said in the owners' statement.
Federal Allegations
In the settled lawsuit, the Department of Justice alleged the DALI was "unseaworthy" and called the owners' conduct "outrageous, grossly negligent, willful, wanton, and reckless."
The government claimed, "This tragedy was entirely avoidable. The electrical and mechanical systems on the DALI were improperly maintained and configured in a way that violated safety regulations and norms for international shipping."
Pending lawsuits remain stemming from the harrowing disaster on March 26th—including by the families of the six workers who died.
Some Crew Members Still in Baltimore
Several of the DALI's crew members remain in the Baltimore area while those lawsuits are ongoing, while the ship has sailed on to China.
Apostleship of the Sea, a charitable organization is assisting them.
Apostleship told WJZ Friday that the crew members are doing as well as can be expected and this settlement does not change their current situation.
The organization said they will continue to support the crew as long as they are here.
