Posted on September 25, 2024
SINGAPORE – The US authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have cleared for operation a Singapore-flagged container ship that they boarded on Sept 21 in the US port of Baltimore.
“We can confirm the authorities have left the vessel and cleared it to resume cargo operations yesterday,” a spokesman for the Singapore-based firm that manages the vessel, Synergy Marine Group, told The Straits Times on Sept 23.
It did not provide further details.
When contacted, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said it was informed by the ship’s manager about the boarding, and that the vessel is expected to depart Baltimore on schedule.
The FBI boarded the Maersk Saltoro with officials from the US Coast Guard’s Investigative Service and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, reported The Washington Post.
The agents were conducting “court-authorised law enforcement activity”, according to statements from the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office in Maryland.
The Maersk Saltoro is managed by the same company as the Dali, the vessel that on March 26 lost power, rammed into and toppled the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
The crash resulted in the deaths of six construction workers and blocked the busy shipping channel for 11 weeks.
The FBI’s operation on the Maersk Saltoro took place three days after the US Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the Dali for being “grossly negligent” and “reckless” in the lead-up to the crash, The New York Times reported.
The US government is seeking more than US$100 million (S$129 million) in damages.
The Maersk Saltoro is a sister ship to the Dali, meaning they are of the same design. Like the Dali, it was built by South Korean company Hyundai in 2015 and measures 300m long and 48m wide.
The Dali is owned by Grace Ocean, also based in Singapore.
