DOVER, Delaware -- Attorneys agreed Friday to settle a host of lawsuits filed after a fatal ship collision near the Chesapeake and Dela-ware canal two years ago.

The lawsuits stem from a collision between a tugboat caravan and the freighter A.V. Kastner on Maryland's Elk River on Feb. 25, 2002, that left four men dead.

"It's safe to say that everyone regrets that this accident happened, and everyone is glad that there has been a settlement and that things are resolved," said Baltimore attorney J. Stephen Simms.

Killed in the collision were the tugboat Swift's master, Capt. William "Bo" Bryant of Norfolk, Va., and three crewmen, Bryant's nephew Justin Bryant of Shallotte, N.C., Ronald Bonniville of Hayes, Va., and Clarence McConnell of McClellanville, S.C.

Within days of the accident, the Swift's owner, Norfolk Dredging Co. of Virginia, filed a $15 million lawsuit against Buchanan Marine LP of New Haven, Conn., blaming the crew of another tug, the Buchanan 14, for the collision.

Norfolk Dredging and Buchanan Marine sued the Kastner and its owner, Gypsum Transportation Ltd. of Bermuda.

The widows of Bryant and McConnell filed lawsuits against the shipping companies, seeking $50 million each.

The Buchanan 14 was the lead tug in a 1,000-foot-long caravan headed north at the upper end of the Chesapeake Bay with dredging equipment bound for Delaware City.

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