Dali Limitation of Liability Petition Filed After Key Bridge Collapse

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, at about 01:29 local time on 26 March 2024 the 984-foot Singapore-flagged Dali was leaving Baltimore Harbor when it experienced losses of electrical power, propulsion and steering and struck a pier of the bridge, which collapsed.

What the petitioners are asking for

The petition offers an interim stipulation of value of $43,670,000, described as the sound value of the vessel plus pending freight, less repair and salvage costs. It states that the sound value of the vessel at the time of the voyage did not exceed $90 million, that repair costs are presently estimated at no less than $28 million and salvage costs at no less than $19.5 million, giving an estimated post-voyage value of about $42.5 million, and that pending freight was about $1.17 million.

The petitioners say they have valid defences to claims and, in the alternative, that any faults causing the casualty occurred without their privity or knowledge, the test that determines whether a shipowner can limit liability under the Act. The petition asks the court to approve the stipulation, with interest at 6% a year, as security for the benefit of claimants.

Who is affected

A limitation proceeding typically draws all claims arising from a casualty into a single federal action. Potential claimants include individuals harmed by the collapse and their families, the State of Maryland and other public bodies responsible for the bridge and its replacement, businesses affected by the closure of the port channel, cargo interests and insurers. Liability insurers and P&I clubs of the vessel interests will follow the proceeding closely, as will reinsurers.

What happens next

The court will consider the petition and the proposed security, and is expected to set a deadline for claims to be filed. Claimants can contest both the right to limit, by seeking to show privity or knowledge of the owner or manager, and the valuation of the limitation fund. The NTSB investigation into the cause of the power losses continues, and its findings are likely to be central to the litigation.

Sources

• US District Court for the District of Maryland: Petition of Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, Case 1:24-cv-00941
• NTSB: Contact of Containership Dali with Francis Scott Key Bridge and Subsequent Bridge Collapse