DALI owner, manager in Key Bridge collapse agree to pay $102 million for harbor cleanup

BALTIMORE --  A $101,980,000 settlement has been reached between the United States Department of Justice and the owner and manager of the DALI for their vessel's role in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March.

On Thursday, the department announced that the DALI'S owner, Grace Ocean Private Limited, and manager, Synergy Marine Private Limited, two Singaporean corporations, were found responsible for the collapse. But both deny all liability.

"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," Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said.

On Sept. 18, the USDJ took legal action in a Maryland court, asking for more than $100 million from Grace Ocean and Synergy after the companies sought exoneration or to limit their liability to approximately $43.7 million.

The money will go to the U.S. Treasury and several federal agencies that removed about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the channel and the DALI itself. 

"This is a tremendous outcome that fully compensates the United States for the costs it incurred in responding to this disaster and holds the owner and operator of the DALI accountable," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department's Civil Division. "The prompt resolution of this matter also avoids the expense associated with litigating this complex case for potentially years."

But in a statement obtained by CBS News, Darrell Wilson, a spokesperson for Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, said, "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. No punitive damages have been imposed as part of this settlement. In accordance with the settlement, the United States has dismissed its claim."

Grace Ocean and Synergy have also paid $97,294 to help clean up oil pollution from the incident. 

The settlement does not include any compensation for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Attorneys for the State of Maryland have filed a separate claim for those damages.

But in the statement to CBS News, Wilson said, "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."