FBI agents board ship in Baltimore – connection to Singaporean company sued for bridge collapse

The FBI and other federal agencies have boarded a ship in Baltimore operated by the same shipping company as the cargo ship that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March.

Their visit comes just days after the Justice Department filed suit 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 Investigative Services, arrived on the Maersk Saltoro ship on Saturday morning.

The FBI said the group “conducted court-authorized law enforcement actions” but declined to provide further details.

Records from IHS Shipping Data 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 had spent the night repairing potholes in 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’s collapse.

The disaster paralyzed the busy port for months and also destroyed a section of Interstate 695, over which the bridge runs.

“The owner and manager of the vessel … sent an ill-prepared crew on a completely unseaworthy vessel into the waterways of the United States,” said a Justice Department civil complaint filed in federal court in Maryland.

The federal government is seeking more than $100 million for the costs the U.S. incurred in responding to the disaster. The federal demand 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 launched a criminal investigation into the fatal shipping accident, focusing on the massive vessel and whether the crew knew about the ship’s malfunction before leaving port. Washington Post reported in April.

Copyright: NPR