By Steve Neavling
Federal agents, including the FBI, boarded the Maersk Saltoro, a massive container ship that is managed by the same company at the center of an investigation involving the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this year, The Washington Post reports.
In a statement, the FBI, alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland, confirmed that agents, along with the Coast Guard’s Investigative Services and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, were conducting “court-authorized law enforcement activity” on the Maersk Saltoro at the Port of Baltimore.
However, no additional details were provided regarding the nature or motive of the operation.
The Saltoro arrived at the Port of Baltimore around 6 a.m. Saturday, passing under the remains of the Key Bridge and docking at the Seagirt Marine Terminal. Reporters from The Washington Post observed federal agents, some wearing FBI-branded jackets and hard hats, arriving in unmarked black SUVs and white sedans. The agents gathered on the dock before proceeding aboard the ship.
The operation follows a recent Justice Department lawsuit seeking more than $100 million in damages, alleging that the owners of the vessel responsible for the bridge’s destruction, the Dali, knowingly allowed an unsafe, unseaworthy ship to operate. The FBI did not confirm if the search on the Maersk Saltoro was directly linked to the ongoing criminal investigation of Grace Ocean, the Dali’s owner, or Synergy Marine, its operator.
Records indicate that both the Dali and the Saltoro are Singapore-flagged ships managed by Synergy Marine Group. According to maritime data provider Clarksons, the Saltoro is a sister ship to the Dali, built by Hyundai in South Korea in 2015, and measuring 984 feet in length. Darrell Wilson, a spokesperson for Synergy Marine, confirmed that federal agents had boarded the Saltoro but declined further comment.
