Federal agents have boarded a vessel operated by the same company as a cargo ship that caused the fatality Baltimore bridge collapsethe FBI has confirmed.
In statements Saturday, spokespeople for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland confirmed that authorities have boarded the Maersk Saltoro. The vessel is managed by Synergy Marine Group.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Coast Guard Investigative Services are present aboard the Maersk Saltoro conducting court-authorized law enforcement activities,” said statements from both the FBI and the US attorney’s office.
Authorities did not provide further details.
In a lawsuit on Wednesday, the US Department of Justice has alleged that Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and executive Synergy Marine Group, both in Singapore, recklessly cut corners and ignored known electrical problems on the vessel that had a power outage moments before it crashed into a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March.
The Dali cargo ship that crashed into the Key Bridge in Baltimore has been refloated and is headed back to port Monday morning.
The Justice Department is seeking to recoup more than $100 million the government spent to clean up the underwater debris and reopen the city’s port.
Darrell Wilson, a spokesperson for Grace Ocean, confirmed that the FBI and Coast Guard boarded the Maersk Saltoro in the port of Baltimore on Saturday morning.
Wilson previously said the owner and manager “look forward to our day in court to set the record straight” about the Justice Department’s lawsuit.