Owner of ship in Baltimore bridge collapse asks cargo owners to help cover salvage costs
BALTIMORE– The owner of the massive container ship Dali, which caused the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, has initiated a lawsuit requiring owners of the cargo on board to cover some of the salvage costs.
The ship’s owner, Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., has made a statement known in maritime law as a “average average” statement, which allows an outside expert to determine what each interested party must contribute, a company spokesman said Darrell Wilson.
The requirement is often invoked after maritime accidents so that the cost of rescuing a ship or its cargo is shared among interested parties, Wilson said. In this case, it covers the costs associated with refloating the Dali, which remains stuck with parts of the fallen bridge draped over the damaged bow.
Crews are removing some shipping containers from the Dali before lifting parts of the wreck and freeing the ship. They are also clearing debris from the Port of Baltimore’s main channel, which has been largely blocked for weeks, halting most commercial traffic through the main shipping hub.
The general average declaration, a routine practice dating back centuries, marks the shipowner’s latest attempt to minimize its financial responsibility in what could become one of the costliest maritime disasters in history.
Grace Ocean and the ship’s management company, Synergy Marine Group, filed a petition shortly after the collapse to limit their legal liability — another routine procedure for cases conducted under U.S. maritime law.
Six members of a roadworks crew were killed in the collapse. Lawyers for some of their families and a survivor vowed to fight the petition and hold the companies accountable.
One of the cargo owners, Mediterranean Shipping Company, announced last week that it was aware of the general damage statement from the Danish shipping company Maersk, which chartered the Dali. The statement shows that the vessel’s owner expects “extraordinary costs for which they expect a contribution from all parties recovered,” according to the company’s press release.
Officials have said the Dali and its cargo — about 4,000 shipping containers — will return to the Port of Baltimore once the ship is refloated.
The Dali left the port of Baltimore early on March 26, loaded with cargo destined for Sri Lanka. It lost power before reaching open water and struck one of the supports of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the span to collapse into the Patapsco River. Police rushed to stop bridge traffic after a last-minute distress call from the ship’s pilot, but were unable to rescue roadworks crews. Two of the victims are still missing.
Both the FBI and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the disaster.