Maryland reaches $2.25B settlement with owners, operator of ship that hit Key Bridge

MARYLAND (WBFF) — Maryland has finalized a $2.25 billion settlement with the owner and operator of the cargo ship M/V Dali over the vessel’s March 26, 2024, allision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Attorney General Anthony Brown announced Tuesday.

The settlement with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd. resolves the state’s claims tied to the bridge collapse and its impacts, including claims pursued by the Office of the Attorney General’s Civil Litigation Division on behalf of the state and its agencies.

Those agencies include the Maryland Transportation Authority, the Maryland Port Administration and the Maryland Department of the Environment.

The attorney general’s office said it worked in coordination with outside counsel with expertise in maritime law and complex litigation.

This $2.25 billion settlement reflects the full measure of accountability we were able to secure from the vessel interests — and our pursuit of justice is not finished,” Brown said, via press release. “We will continue to press our claims against the shipbuilder whose fault helped bring this bridge down.

The settlement does not resolve Maryland’s claims against the shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries. The National Transportation Safety Board, in its final report issued in November 2025, found Hyundai Heavy Industries to be at fault in causing the Dali’s loss of power and its allision with the bridge. The state said it intends to pursue those claims.

On the morning of March 26, 2024, the M/V Dali crashed into a supporting column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the bridge’s collapse. Six construction workers were killed: Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, Jose Mynor Lopez, Carlos Hernández, Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, and Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval. Two other people were injured.

State officials said the collapse halted shipping at the Port of Baltimore, disrupted the livelihoods of thousands of workers, rerouted traffic through communities already bearing disproportionate burdens, and triggered economic ripple effects that continue to be felt across Maryland.

Within hours of the collapse, Brown appointed Special Assistant Attorney General Katie Dorian to lead the statewide legal effort on behalf of the state and affected agencies. The attorney general also engaged maritime counsel and assembled a litigation team.

In April 2024, Brown toured the disaster site by boat and viewed the wreckage, salvage efforts and damage. The attorney general’s office said a team of maritime experts acting on behalf of the office boarded the Dali and conducted an approximately 10-hour inspection of the ship.

In May 2024, after approval by the Maryland Transportation Authority Board and the Maryland Board of Public Works, the attorney general’s office finalized a team of five outside law firms to serve as assistant counsel. The firms selected through an open, competitive process were Kelley Drye & Warren LLP; Liskow and Lewis, APLC; Partridge LLC; The Lanier Law Firm, PLLC; and Downs Ward Bender Herzog & Kintigh, P.A., serving as local counsel.

On Sept. 24, 2024, Brown, joined by Gov. Wes Moore, announced the filing of a claim in a pending lawsuit against Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The state sought damages for the destruction of the bridge, environmental harm, lost toll revenues and economic losses sustained by Maryland and its residents.

The attorney general’s office said Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine sought to cap their total liability at approximately $43.7 million, the estimated post-disaster value of the Dali, by invoking the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851.

In November 2025, the NTSB said its final report traced the cause of the Dali’s blackout to a single loose signal wire in the ship’s electrical control center and concluded the disaster was entirely preventable. The NTSB also identified Hyundai Heavy Industries as bearing fault for the ship’s loss of power.

In April 2026, with a June 1 trial approaching, the state announced it had reached a settlement in principle with Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine. The attorney general’s office said the agreement has now been finalized.

In reaching the agreement, the state said it examined the available resources of Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, including available insurance limits, and concluded the settlement maximizes the recovery available from the vessel interests.

The state also said it recognizes and supports that the families of those who died and those who were injured deserve just compensation from the Dali interests, and that those claims are being pursued separately by counsel representing the victims’ families.

Brown said the state’s pursuit of accountability will continue through its claims against Hyundai Heavy Industries.

On Tuesday morning, federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against the operator of the cargo ship Dali and an employee, accusing them of wrongdoing tied to the deadly collapse.