The Singapore-flagged ship that was boarded by the FBI in Baltimore is allowed to resume operations

SINGAPORE – American authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have cleared for operation a Singapore-flagged container ship that they boarded in the U.S. port of Baltimore on September 21.

“We can confirm that the authorities have abandoned the vessel and given clearance to resume cargo operations yesterday,” a spokesman for Singapore-based Synergy Marine Group, which manages the vessel, told The Straits Times on September 23.

No further details were given.

The FBI boarded the Maersk Saltoro along with officers from the U.S. Coast Guard’s investigative service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal investigation division, the Washington Post reported.

According to statements from the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland, the agents were conducting a “court-authorized law enforcement activity.”

The Maersk Saltoro is managed by the same company as the Dali, the ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26 due to a power outage and caused it to collapse. The accident killed six construction workers and blocked the busy shipping channel for 11 weeks.

The FBI’s operation on the Maersk Saltoro came three days after the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the Dali’s owner and operator for “gross negligence” and “recklessness” in the run-up to the accident, the New York Times reported.

The US government is demanding more than US$100 million (S$129 million) in damages.

The Maersk Saltoro is a sister ship of the Dali, meaning they are of the same design. Like the Dali, it was built in 2015 by the South Korean company Hyundai and is 300 m long and 48 m wide.

The owner of the Dali is Grace Ocean, who is also based in Singapore.

ST has contacted the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore for further information.