Maryland Reaches Settlement in Key Bridge Collapse; US DOJ Files Criminal Charges in Collapse
Image courtesy Key Bridge Response
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced that the State of Maryland has reached a final settlement of $2.25-billion with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte, Ltd – the owner and operator of the M/V Dali – resolving the State’s claims against those parties after the container ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024.
Image courtesy Baltimore County Fire Department
Federal officials have announced that criminal charges have been brought against the operator and an employee of the container ship. The indictment from the US DOJ was filed April 8 and names Synergy Marine Pte, Ltd, Synergy Maritime Pte, Ltd and 47 year old Radhakrishnan Nair, an Indian national who was the Technical Superintendent for both companies s defendants. They are charged with multiple offenses:
- conspiracy
- willfully failing to immediately inform the US Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition
- obstruction of an agency proceeding
- false statements
Synergy and Nair are also charged with obstruction of an agency proceeding and providing false statements and documents to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as it conducted a casualty investigation.
Additional information from AG Brown’s release:
The settlement resolves claims brought against the vessel interests by the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Civil Litigation Division on behalf of the State and its agencies, including the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), the Maryland Port Administration (MPA), and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), in coordination with a team of outside counsel with expertise in maritime law and complex litigation.
This settlement does not resolve the State’s claims against the shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in its final report issued in November 2025, found Hyundai Heavy Industries to be at fault in causing the M/V Dali’s loss of power and its allision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The State intends to pursue those claims.
“The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sent shockwaves through Maryland and caused damages on a scale this State had never seen,” said Attorney General Anthony G. Brown. “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. We will continue to press our claims against the shipbuilder whose fault helped bring this bridge down.”
On the morning of March 26, 2024, the M/V Dali crashed into a supporting column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing its catastrophic collapse. Six construction workers lost their lives: Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Dorlian Ronial
The disaster brought shipping at the Port of Baltimore to a complete halt, 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 the State.
Within hours of the collapse, Attorney General Brown appointed Special Assistant Attorney General Katie Dorian to lead the coordinated, statewide legal effort on behalf of the State and its agencies affected by the disaster. Attorney General Brown also immediately engaged maritime counsel to protect the State’s interests from day one, while the Office moved swiftly to assemble a full litigation team.
In April 2024, Attorney General Brown toured the disaster site by boat to witness first-hand the scale of the destruction, viewing the wreckage of the bridge, the salvage efforts underway, and the full scope of what the Dali had left behind. Alongside the Attorney General, a team of maritime experts acting on behalf of the Office boarded the Dali and conducted an approximately 10-hour inspection of the ship, their first up-close examination of its contents and damage.
In May 2024, following approval by both the Maryland Transportation Authority Board and the Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW), the OAG finalized a team of five outside law firms to serve as Assistant Counsel. Selected through an open, competitive process for their deep expertise in maritime disasters, tort litigation, insurance recovery, and dispute resolution, the firms are: Kelley Drye & Warren LLP; Liskow and Lewis, APLC; Partridge LLC; The Lanier Law Firm, PLLC; and, serving as local counsel, Downs Ward Bender Herzog & Kintigh, P.A.
On September 24, 2024, Attorney General Brown, joined by Governor Wes Moore, announced the filing of a claim in a pending lawsuit against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd. 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 the wide-ranging economic losses sustained by Maryland and its residents.
From the outset, 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, a maritime law that ties a shipowner’s liability to the value of the vessel after a disaster. A $43.7 million cap would have represented a small fraction of the damages caused by the loss of the bridge.
In November 2025, the NTSB released its final report on the collapse, tracing the cause of the Dali’s blackout to a single loose signal wire in the ship’s electrical control center and concluding that the disaster was entirely preventable. The NTSB also identified Hyundai Heavy Industries, the builder of the M/V Dali, 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. Today, that agreement has been finalized.
In reaching this agreement, the State carefully examined the available resources of Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, including available insurance limits, and concluded that the settlement maximizes the recovery available from the vessel interests.
The State also recognizes and supports that the families of those who lost their lives and those who were injured deserve to receive just compensation from the Dali interests. Those claims are being pursued separately by counsel representing the victims’ families.
The State’s pursuit of accountability does not end here. Attorney General Brown intends to pursue claims against Hyundai Heavy Industries for its fault and share of the State’s damages.
Attorney General Brown thanks Civil Division Chief Robert A. Scott, Senior Assistant Attorney General Howard Feldman, Assistant Attorney General Jessica Finberg, Administrative Officer Hannah Woods, Special Assistant Attorney General for Key Bridge Recovery and Restoration Katie Dorian, retired Principal Counsel for the Maryland Transportation Authority Kim Millender, and Assistant Counsel: Kelley Drye & Warren LLP; Liskow and Lewis, APLC; Partridge LLC; The Lanier Law Firm, PLLC; and Downs Ward Bender Herzog & Kintigh, P.A.