The US justice department has said that Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, the Singaporean companies that owned and operated the Motor Vessel (MV) Dali container ship, have agreed to pay $102m to resolve a civil claim arising from the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

During the early morning hours of 26 March 2024 the MV Dali left port on its way to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

However, the vessel soon lost power, rendering its steering systems unusable. Unable to alter its trajectory, Dali smashed straight into one of the support pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bridge immediately collapsed, causing the deaths of six people.

The incident is estimated to have impacted at least 8,000 jobs and forced the closure of a waterway that caused an estimated $15m in daily losses to the local economy. It also cost $100m to clean up underwater debris and reopen Baltimore’s port, which took place three months later in June 2024.

In September 2024, the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit...