US gets $100m settlement for Baltimore bridge collapse

The owners of a instrumentality vessel that crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge person been ordered to wage the US authorities implicit $100m (£77.1m) successful damages, the US justness section has announced.

Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the companies that owned and operated the Dali person agreed to pay, resolving a month-long civilian lawsuit.

The justness section called the 26 March collision that killed six and sent tonnes of debris into the stream "one of the worst proscription disasters successful caller memory".

Payment volition spell to the US Treasury and different national agencies straight affected by the collision oregon progressive successful the response.

“This is simply a tremendous result that afloat compensates the United States for the costs it incurred successful responding to this catastrophe and holds the proprietor and relation of the Dali accountable,” said Brian Boynton, caput of the justness department’s civilian division, successful a property merchandise connected Thursday.

The section said the colony does not see immoderate damages for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The authorities has filed its ain assertion for those damages.

The US blamed the incidental connected electrical and mechanical systems failures connected the ship. It alleged the Dali was inadequately maintained, which it said caused the vessel to suffer powerfulness and clang into a span column.

Six men - each operation workers fixing potholes connected the span - died erstwhile they were plunged into the h2o aft the instrumentality vessel deed the structure.

The Dali's collision sent tonnes of debris into the Patapsco River, freezing postulation for months astatine 1 of the busiest ports successful the US.

In response, the US coordinated dozens of federal, authorities and section agencies to region 50,000 tonnes of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the shipping transmission and from the Dali, the justness section said.

The span illness besides caused "economic devastation" arsenic shipping was brought to a standstill. The Port of Baltimore reopened successful June for commercialized navigation.

The incidental besides blocked a cardinal way for section commuters.