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.
In Monday’s filing, the two Singapore-based companies denied that the bridge collapse was “due to any fault, neglect, or want of care” on the part of the businesses, the vessel, or any other persons or entities for whose acts the companies may be responsible.
“Alternatively, if any such faults caused or contributed to the [bridge collapse], or to any loss or damage arising out of the [bridge collapse], which is denied, such faults were occasioned and occurred without [the companies’] privity or knowledge,” the filing reads.
The claim said damages should be limited to $43,670,000—the value of the Dali and the potential revenue from its cargo after the costs of salvage and damage to the ship are factored in. The companies’ attorneys said the businesses are “aware of potential demands or claims against them” but said the identity of the claimants and the possible amounts of their claims had not yet been determined.
The filing to clear them from liability or cap damages was made under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851—a statute originally designed to protect American shipowners from claims relating to mishaps like acts of piracy or storms over which they had no control.
Hugh “Skip” Lambert, an attorney specializing in maritime law, told The Baltimore Sun that for such filings to succeed, owners have to prove that they were not negligent. He said that can be difficult, and while it’s “very common” for a limitation of liability to be filed, the “success of it is not common.” “Most limitation of liability actions fail in limiting the liability because there’s usually some fault on the part of the vessel owner,” Lambert added.
The statute was successfully invoked by the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, the parent company of the White Star Line, after the RMS Titanic sank in 1912. Faced with hundreds of lawsuits demanding over $16 million in damages, the company ended up paying just $664,000 in a settlement.
Nearly two dozen crew members are still stranded on the Dali, the BBC reported Monday. A nonprofit organization that supports mariners’ rights told the broadcaster it had been in contact with the crew about the delivery of a care package which included WiFi.
“They didn’t have WiFi until Saturday and they didn’t really know what the perception of the rest of the world was,” said Joshua Messick, executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center. “They weren’t sure if they were being blamed, or [demonized]. They just didn’t know what to expect.”
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