FBI boards Singapore-flagged ship “Maersk Saltoro” in Baltimore

US federal agents on Saturday (21 September) boarded a Singapore-flagged container ship managed by the same company as Singapore-registered container vessel Dali that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, according to several media outlets.

Citing a statement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Attorney’s Office in Maryland, they confirmed several law enforcement agencies including FBI agents boarded Maersk Saltoro in the Port of Baltimore. 

Both Maersk Saltoro and Dali are managed by Singapore-based Synergy Marine Group.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and Coast Guard Investigative Services are present aboard the Maersk Saltoro conducting court authorised law enforcement activity,” said FBI and the US Attorney’s Office. 

Both did not provide further information. The development came just days after the Justice Department filed a civil claim in the US District Court for the District of Maryland against Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, the Singaporean corporations that owned and operated the container ship that destroyed the bridge.

The suit seeks to recover over USD 100 million in costs the United States incurred in responding to the fatal disaster and for clearing the entangled wreck and bridge debris from the navigable channel so the port could reopen.

In a press call, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Chetan Patil of the Civil Division said: “This accident happened because of the careless and grossly negligent decisions made by Grace Ocean and Synergy, who recklessly chose to send an unseaworthy vessel to navigate a critical waterway and ignored the risks to American lives and the nation’s infrastructure.”

The Straits Times reported that Synergy Marine Group has confirmed that US authorities have left the Maersk Saltoro to resume cargo operations on 22 September. 

Related: US sues owner, operator of Singapore-registered “Dali” for Baltimore bridge crash
Related: NTSB report dismisses bunker fuel as cause of Singapore-registered “Dali” crashing into Baltimore bridge
Related: Baltimore bridge crash: Safety investigation to include contaminated bunker fuel as possible cause
Related: Baltimore bridge collapse: FuelTrust highlights bunkering activities of Singapore-registered “Dali”
Related: MPA: Singapore-registered ship in Baltimore bridge crash passed previous foreign port state inspections

Photo credit: FBI Baltimore
Published: 24 September, 2024