Federal agents on Saturday boarded a vessel controlled by the same company that caused the Baltimore bridge collapse, the FBI confirmed.
In a statement, spokesmen for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for Maryland confirmed that authorities had boarded the Maersk Saltoro, a ship managed by Synergy Marine Group.
Department of Justice files $100 million lawsuit against operator of Baltimore Key Bridge wreck
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Criminal Investigation and the Coast Guard Investigative Service are on board the Maersk Saltoro and conducting court-authorized law enforcement operations,” the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement Saturday morning.
Officials did not provide further details. The boarding of the ship by federal authorities was first reported by The Washington Post.
The search came months after investigators carried out a similar search for the cargo ship Dali, which crashed into the bridge.
This photo taken from Pasadena, Maryland, on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 shows the cargo ship “Dali” colliding with the Francis Scott Key Bridge and becoming lodged in part of the bridge structure. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges that the Dali's owner, Grace Ocean Pvt. Ltd., and its management company, Synergy Marine Ltd., both of Singapore, ignored known electrical problems and recklessly cut corners when the vessel lost power multiple times minutes before it struck a pillar of the Francis Scott Quay Bridge in March.
The Justice Department said the massive ship's mechanical and electrical systems were “makeshift” and improperly maintained, causing a power outage and a series of malfunctions that left the pilot and crew powerless to avert the impending disaster. The ship was en route from Baltimore to Sri Lanka when a power outage caused it to lose control.
The bridge collapsed into the water, killing six road workers, and the collapse disrupted commercial shipping through the Port of Baltimore for several months until the waterway fully reopened in June.
The Justice Department is seeking recovery of more than $100 million the government spent to remove the underwater wreckage and reopen the city's port.
The companies filed suit in court days after the accident, seeking to limit their liability in what could be the largest maritime accident lawsuit ever. Justice Department officials said the motion to limit liability is without merit and that they would vigorously defend against it.
The Justice Department argued in its lawsuit, which also seeks punitive damages, that ship owners and operators “must be deterred from such reckless and extremely harmful conduct.”
Authorities wrote in the complaint that the Dali has “sister ships,” including the Grace Ocean and Synergy itself.
The lawsuit says the companies “continue to operate vessels, including Dali's sister vessels, in U.S. waters and derive economic benefits from their activities and therefore must be restrained.”
Grace Ocean spokesman Darrell Wilson confirmed that the FBI and Coast Guard boarded the Maersk Saltoro in the Port of Baltimore on Saturday morning. Wilson had previously said the owners and managers “look forward to presenting the facts in court.”
Like the Dali, the Singapore-flagged Saltro was built by Hyundai in 2015.
The Dali's serious electrical problems may have been caused by excessive vibrations in the ship that loosened wiring and damaged connections, according to the Justice Department's complaint. The ship's previous captain reported “severe vibrations” in handover records from May 2023 and had made similar reports to Synergy in the past, according to the complaint.
The suit alleges that equipment in the engine room cracked and some of the cargo shook loose. The ship's electrical equipment was in such poor condition that an independent agency halted further electrical inspections due to safety concerns, the suit says.
The ship also experienced a power outage while docked in Baltimore Port, which is considered a “reportable maritime incident” and must be reported to the US Coast Guard, but authorities say that has not happened.
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The Dali, which was trapped in the wreckage of the sinking for months before breaking free and refloating, left Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday afternoon bound for China on its first international voyage since the March 26 disaster.
Justice Department officials declined to answer questions Wednesday about whether a criminal investigation into the bridge collapse was ongoing. FBI agents boarded the Dali in April.
