Last week, a cargo ship temporarily lost power and spun out of control, causing it to slam into the Francis Scott Key Bridge near Baltimore. The bridge collapsed, resulting in the death of two construction workers. Two other construction workers were injured, and four others are currently unaccounted for and are presumed dead.
The collapse of the bridge has also spurred untold financial damages. Some estimates put the costs for rebuilding the bridge as high as $800 million and others project that insurance claims for the episode could soar to $4 billion.
The companies that own and operate the ship, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine PTE LTD, have issued a court filing to limit their liability in the matter. In their joint legal petition, the companies claim that the bridge collapse “was not due to any fault, neglect, or want of care on the part of Petitioners, the Vessel, or any persons or entities for whose acts Petitioners may be responsible”.
Their legal argument relates to a 19th-century maritime law that could allow them to limit the amount of liability to the value of the vessel that caused the accident. That vessel—the cargo ship Dali—is currently worth around $42,500,000.
The exact reason for the ship’s power failure has not yet been made clear at this time and investigators are currently looking into possible causes.
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