Baltimore bridge collapse: U.S. judge dismisses most remaining claims against ship owner, operator

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Construction crews work to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. The bridge collapsed in March 2024 after the cargo ship Dali struck a support pier, killing six construction workers. | Photo Credit: AFP

A U.S. federal judge has dismissed the bulk of the remaining civil claims arising from the container ship Dali’s allision with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024.

On August 25, Judge James K. Bredar of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled on a motion filed by Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, the owner and manager of the Dali, seeking dismissal of all 10 claims still pending in the case. The Dali, manned largely by Indian crew, allided with the bridge on March 26, 2024, killing six construction workers and shutting down the busy Baltimore port. Full traffic could resume only three months later.

Wrongful death and personal injury claims, property damage claims, and nearly all cargo claims were privately settled by Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine in May 2026. The same month, the State of Maryland reached a $2.5 billion settlement with Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine. That followed an earlier $102 million settlement in October 2024 between the U.S. Department of Justice and the two companies over claims by federal agencies.

Judge Bredar cited a precedent called the Robins Dry Dock rule, a nearly century-old maritime law doctrine in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that parties cannot recover purely economic losses in a maritime negligence case unless those losses flow from physical damage to property in which they hold an ownership or proprietary interest. The rule exists, courts have said, to prevent “runaway recovery” triggered by limitless claims from every business indirectly affected.

Judge Bredar found that most of the claims before him fell outside this precedent.

The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore may continue pursuing only its claim for damage to a 72-inch water main that ran beneath the bridge. The rest of the city’s claim, including increased road maintenance costs and lost tax revenue from diverted traffic, was dismissed. The court also struck down a city ordinance passed in August 2024 specifically to allow it to recover such losses, finding it exceeded Baltimore’s legislative authority under the Maryland Constitution’s home-rule provisions.

Baltimore County’s claim for damage to waterways and shorelines it can establish it owns may continue. Its claims for emergency response costs, search-and-rescue expenses and public nuisance were dismissed.

Claims filed by “private economic loss” claimants, businesses that said they lost earnings after the bridge was destroyed, were dismissed almost entirely. Four claimants who allege they had cargo aboard the Dali that was physically damaged in the collision have been allowed to proceed with their claims.

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