Grace Ocean Privatebased in Singapore, formally owns Dali. Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., also based in Singapore, is the vessel’s manager
Baltimore – The owner and operator of the container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge of Baltimore before it collapsed last week, filed a motion in court today seeking to limit their legal liability for the deadly disaster. Filing for “limitation of liability” by companies is a routine but very important procedure for controversial cases under US maritime law. A federal court in Maryland will decide who is responsible for what could become one of the costliest catastrophes of its kind.
(Here is the video of the Baltimore disaster)
Grace Ocean Private Ltd., based in Singapore, formally owns the Dali, the ship that lost power before crashing into the bridge last Tuesday. Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., also based in Singapore, is the vessel’s manager. Their joint statement seeks to limit the companies’ liability to approximately $43.6 million. The vessel itself is estimated to be worth up to $90 million and was carrying more than $1.1 million worth of goods. The estimate deducts two important expenses: at least $28 million in repair costs and at least $19.5 million in salvage costs. The companies filed under an 1851 maritime law that allows them to seek to limit liability to value of the ship after a casualty. It’s a mechanism that has been used as a defense in many major maritime disasters, James Mercante, a New York lawyer with more than 30 years of experience in maritime law, told US media. “This is the first step in the process,” Mercante said.
A rating agency report Morningstar Dbrs predicts bridge collapse could become the costliest marine insured loss in history, surpassing the record of approximately $1.5 billion held by the 2012 sinking of the Costa Concordia to the island of Giglio. Morningstar DBRS estimates that total insured losses from the Baltimore disaster could be between $2 billion and $4 billion. Eight people were working on the bridge when it collapsed. Two were saved. The bodies of two others were recovered. Four are missing and presumed dead. Following the collision, the vessel blocked access to the Port of Baltimore, which could cost the area’s economy hundreds of millions of dollars in lost employment income alone over the next month. Experts say the cost to rebuild the collapsed bridge could be at least $400 million or even double that, although much will depend on the new project.
