The FBI has opened a criminal investigation that will try to establish if the container ship Dali left port with systems problems before hitting a bridge in Baltimore, according to US press reports.
The Washington Post first reported the investigation, citing two unidentified officials, and said that agents appeared to have boarded the 9,962-teu Dali (built 2015) early on Monday.
The US attorney for Maryland, Erek Barron, declined to confirm an investigation had started.
The container ship lost power on 26 March and struck a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, bringing down a span. Six construction workers died in the accident.
The cause of the incident is under investigation while work continues to remove bridge debris from the bow of the ship. Salvors are trying to remove broken containers that will free the ship and allow the main shipping channel to be reopened.
“The FBI is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court-authorised law enforcement activity,” the agency said in a statement cited by the Post on Monday.
A spokesman for Dali owner Grace Ocean and manager Synergy Marine said they extended their sympathies to all those affected by the incident.
Dali owner Grace Ocean and manager Synergy Marine said that commenting during the ongoing investigation would be inappropriate, respecting the investigations and potential future legal proceedings.
Grace Ocean declared general average on Friday, which means that cargo and vessel interests share in the cost of a casualty.
The Dali, chartered by AP Moller-Maersk, was on a service that the Danish company operated with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company as part of its 2M partnership.
MSC confirmed the general average declaration and said that it indicates that the owners “expect the salvage operations to result in high extraordinary costs” and are seeking contributions.
Repair costs for the ship are estimated to be at least $28m, with salvage costs likely to top $19.5m, according to court papers filed by the owners and operators on 1 April.
Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, both based in Singapore, lodged a petition in a federal court in Baltimore to cap legal exposure at nearly $43.7m.
Read more
- Electric power systems become focus of Dali bridge collision probe
- Baltimore bridge crash ship crew set sights on salvage away from spotlight
- Baltimore clean-up: Salvors move first containers to free stricken Dali in painstaking operation
- Liner stocks bounce back from Baltimore bridge blow
- ‘We still have a long road ahead of us’: Baltimore salvage faces challenges as cargoes divert
- Baltimore bridge tragedy puts fuel contamination in shipping spotlight
