FBI agents boarded ship belonging to company whose other cargo ship caused the Baltimore bridge to collapse

BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal agents boarded a ship Saturday operated by the same shipping company as the cargo ship that caused the deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore, the FBI confirmed.

Spokespeople for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland confirmed in statements that authorities had boarded the Maersk Saltoro. The ship is managed by Synergy Marine Group.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, and Coast Guard Investigative Services are present on board the Maersk Saltoro and are conducting court-authorized law enforcement activities,” said statements from both the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The authorities did not provide any further details. The Washington Post was the first to report on federal officials entering the ship.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department alleged that Dali’s owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and manager Synergy Marine Group, both of Singapore, recklessly cut corners on quality and ignored known electrical problems on the vessel, which caused a power outage shortly before the ship struck a support pillar on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March.

The Justice Department alleges that the massive ship’s mechanical and electrical systems were “makeshiftly tampered with” and not properly maintained, causing a power outage just before it hit the bridge. Six construction workers were killed when the bridge collapsed into the water.

The collapse also caused disruptions to commercial shipping traffic in the Port of Baltimore for months before the canal was fully reopened in June.

The ship was leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka when the controls failed due to a power outage.

The Justice Department is trying to recoup the more than $100 million the government spent to clean up the underwater debris and reopen the city’s harbor.

The companies filed a motion in court days after the sinking to limit their legal liability in what may be the costliest shipping accident in history. Justice Department officials said there was no legal basis for the attempt and vowed to vigorously contest it.

In its lawsuit, the Justice Department argued that ship owners and operators “must be deterred from such reckless and extremely harmful conduct.”

This includes Grace Ocean and Synergy itself, as the Dali has a “sister ship,” authorities wrote.

The two companies “must be deterred as they continue to operate their vessels, including a sister ship to the Dali, in U.S. waters and profit economically from these activities,” the lawsuit states.

Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for Grace Ocean, confirmed that the FBI and Coast Guard boarded the Maersk Saltoro in Baltimore Harbor on Saturday morning.

Wilson had previously stated that owners and managers were “looking forward to their day in court to set the record straight regarding the Justice Department’s lawsuit.”

The Dali, which was stuck in the rubble of the collapse for months before it could be freed and refloated, left Norfolk, Virginia on Thursday afternoon for China on its first international voyage since the March 26 disaster.

Justice Department officials declined to answer questions Wednesday about whether the criminal investigation into the bridge collapse is ongoing. FBI agents boarded the Dali in April.

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Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee.