Maryland Reaches Settlement with Dali Ship Owners Over Fatal 2024 Bridge Collapse

Six men were filling potholes on an overnight shift on the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, when the cargo ship Dali lost power, drifted, and brought down the span. Their names were Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, Carlos Daniel Hernandez Estrella, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, Jose Mynor Lopez, and Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval. All six were immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Two years later, on the anniversary of their deaths, Maryland reached a deal — though the terms remain hidden from public view.

Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced Thursday that the state reached a settlement in principle with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., the owner and operator of the M/V Dali. The agreement resolves a portion of the state's claims arising from the ship's March 26, 2024 crash into the bridge. Brown released no dollar figure. His office disclosed no details, stating the settlement is still being finalized.

"For two years, Maryland workers, families, and communities have carried the weight of a disaster that should never have happened," Brown said in a statement. "The Dali's crash into the Key Bridge disrupted the Port of Baltimore, devastated livelihoods, and sent economic shockwaves across our State that are still being felt today."

What the state's claims covered is substantial. The settlement would resolve the state's claims against the companies for the destruction of the bridge, harm to the Patapsco River, and the sweeping economic losses suffered by Maryland and its residents. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in September 2024, alleged negligence, mismanagement, and unsafe operation of a vessel the state contended should never have left port. The claims were filed on behalf of the Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland Port Administration, and Maryland Department of the Environment.

The deal follows a separate, recently disclosed settlement: days before the state's announcement, ACE American Insurance Company reached a $350 million settlement with Grace Ocean and Synergy, matching the amount ACE had paid Maryland shortly after the March 2024 collapse, which represented the full limit of the state's bridge insurance policy.

Neither settlement touches the claims that matter most to the six families. Grace Ocean and Synergy have denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to settle a similar lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice for $101,980,000. The families separately sued for wrongful death and punitive damages, and those cases remain active. The total value of all asserted claims in the broader litigation is reported to exceed $5 billion.

The central legal battleground heading into a trial set for June 2026 is whether the shipowner and operator can cap their liability at roughly $44 million under an old maritime law. The companies have been fighting to hold that limit for two years, while claimants are seeking damages worth billions.

The Maryland Transportation Authority estimated last year that a replacement bridge alone will cost between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion, with an anticipated open-to-traffic date in late 2030. That timeline, extended from 2028, means the Port of Baltimore and the drivers who once used the bridge's 1.6-mile span to bypass downtown will wait at least four more years. Until the June trial resolves the liability cap question, the gap between what the ship's companies are willing to pay and what Baltimore is owed remains the most consequential unanswered number in the case — one the public cannot yet evaluate because the terms of Thursday's agreement are sealed.