Indian-manned ship owner, operator to pay $2.25 billion

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

14 MAY 2026

• The State of Maryland has reached a $2.25 billion settlement with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., the owner and the operator, respectively, of the Indian-manned container ship Dali that rammed into Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March, 2024.
• The bridge collapsed in Patapasco river in Maryland.
• The river’s tidal portion forms the harbour for the city of Baltimore.
• Six construction workers patching potholes on the bridge died in the accident.
• Synergy sources confirmed the settlement but did not want to discuss insurance contribution.
• In October, 2024, the federal Department of Justice (DoJ) had settled with the two companies for $102 million, covering claims from federal agencies.
• The total loss, as estimated by the U.S. government, runs to some $5 billion.
• Insurance experts had earlier predicted that the Dali accident will equal or surpass the then highest-ever marine insurance payout in the case of the Costa Concordia cruise vessel capsizing in 2012.
• Ahead of the settlement announcement, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) said it was pressing criminal charges against Synergy Marine of Singapore, Synergy Maritime of Chennai and their employee Radhakrishnan Karthick Nair, technical superintendent of Dali.
• Synergy has, however, disputed the version of the DoJ on the cause of the accident.
• According to the department, the accident was largely due to two onboard blackouts before the ship rammed into the bridge.
• First blackout was allegedly caused by a loose electrical wire and the second allegedly by generators getting starved of fuel and stopping because of the use of a wrong fuel pump.
• The settlement with the two companies leaves open claims Maryland may have against the manufacturer of the ship, Hyundai Heavy Industries.