FBI Visits Cargo Ship Operated By Same Company Implicated In Baltimore Bridge Collapse: NPR
Tugboats maneuver the damaged container ship Dali through the Port of Baltimore and into the Seagirt Marine Terminal on May 20.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The FBI and other federal authorities have seized a ship in Baltimore operated by the same company as the cargo ship that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse in March.
Their visit comes just days after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the companies that owned and operated the deadly ship.
In a statement, the FBI said its agents, along with officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Coast Guard’s Investigation Service, arrived at the Maersk Saltoro ship Saturday morning.
The FBI said the group was “conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity” and declined to provide further details.
IHS Shipping Data records show that the Maersk Saltoro is managed by Synergy Marine Private Ltd., the same company that operated the cargo ship Dali.
On March 26, the massive ship lost power and crashed into the Baltimore Bridge, killing six construction workers who were repairing potholes overnight on the structure.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced it was suing Synergy Marine and the ship’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Ltd., both Singapore-based companies, for negligence and dangerous cost-cutting decisions that led to the bridge collapse.
The disaster paralyzed the busy port for months and also destroyed a segment of Interstate 695 through which the bridge passes.
“The owner and manager of the vessel … sent an ill-prepared crew on a vessel that was completely unfit to navigate the waterways of the United States,” the Justice Department said in a civil complaint filed in federal court in Maryland.
The federal government is seeking more than $100 million for U.S. costs incurred in responding to the disaster. The federal request does not cover the cost of rebuilding the bridge. Because Maryland built and owns the bridge, the state will seek its own compensation, according to the Justice Department.
The FBI has also opened a criminal investigation into the deadly sinking, focusing on the massive ship and whether the crew knew the vessel was malfunctioning before leaving port. Washington Post reported in April.
