Dali Owners Cite Law Used After Titanic Sank to Deny Fault in Bridge Collapse
A pair of companies that own and manage the ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge before its collapse last week are asking a federal judge to limit their legal liability in connection with the disaster, which killed six people and brought chaos to the city’s port.
Grace Ocean Private Ltd, which owns the Dali cargo ship, and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., the company that manages the ship, filed a claim in Baltimore’s U.S. District Court on Monday seeking an exoneration from liability, or for damages to be limited just to the total value of the ship and the revenue that could have been made from its cargo. The filing was made under an archaic law once used by a shipping company trying to limit its own financial losses after the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
On March 26, the giant Dali reportedly lost power in the early hours as it approached the bridge, crashing into one of the structure’s piers. A large span of the bridge—which carried I-695 over the Patapsco River—collapsed seconds later. A crew of contractors was repairing potholes in the roadway on the bridge at the time. Two were rescued from the water, while the bodies of another two were found later. Four remain missing and are believed to be dead.