The owner of the vessel involved in the collision with the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge has filed a petition in federal court to limit its liability in the incident, which claimed the lives of six individuals.
Grace Ocean Private Limited, the owner of the Dali ship, and Synergy Marine Group, the ship’s manager, submitted the filing under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, a piece of legislation that enables ship owners to limit their liability for certain claims to the value of the vessel and its cargo at the end of its journey.
Notably, the Titanic’s creators were protected by the law. The ship’s owner, White Star Line, was slapped with hundreds of claims totaling $16 million in damages after it sank in 1912. Finally, the matter reached the US Supreme Court, which cited the 1851 statute. Ultimately, extrajudicial discussions brought about a settlement of $664,000 in July 1916.
According to documents from the Library of Congress, to get the funds, applicant shad to end their claims in the US and England, where the ship set sail, and acknowledge that the owner had no information or awareness of any negligence.
According to the documents, none of the crew members onboard the ship, the owner, or the vessel’s acts or negligence caused the tragedy. According to the data, the ship was not worth more than $90 million at the time of the tragedy. Estimated salvage expenses are $19 million, while repair expenditures are $28 million.
The companies are offering an interim stipulation of $43m, even though the total costs of the destruction have not yet been determined. Davies said that any claimants, presumed to be relatives of the six men who died in the collapse, and the state can challenge the amount at a later date.
(With inputs from agencies)