The owner and operator of the cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge has agreed to pay $102m (£78.6m) to the federal government, the US Department of Justice said.

Six construction workers were killed after the Dali ship hit the 1.6-mile-long Francis Scott Key Bridge around 1:30 a.m. local time on March 26.

The ship crashed into a support pole, sending the bridge plunging into the Patapsco River.

It spent two months under the wreck before being refloated and guided back to port in May. In June, he finally left Baltimore.

In September, the Department of Justice filed a civil claim seeking $103 million from two Singapore companies, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited.

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The lawsuit was meant to recoup money the U.S. government spent responding to the disaster and clearing the wreckage of the Dali and bridge debris from Baltimore Harbor so the waterway could reopen in June.

The reopening required the removal of 50,000 tons of debris.

More than 1,500 individual responders, along with 500 specialists from around the world, operated a fleet of boats during the operation, which involved 56 federal, state and local agencies.

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Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said the settlement “ensures that the costs of the federal government’s cleanup efforts in the Fort McHenry Canal are borne by Grace Ocean and Synergy and not by the American taxpayer.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said in May that Dali lost power several times before plunging into the bridge.

In April, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into the disaster.

The state of Maryland, which estimates the bridge will cost between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion to rebuild and anticipates completion by fall 2028, has filed separate lawsuits against the companies for the cost of the bridge, cleanup efforts, environmental complaints and other costs . .

Funds recovered by Maryland for the bridge reconstruction will be used to offset project costs paid by the US government, the Justice Department said.