Quirk in US maritime law may be key to liability in Baltimore bridge disaster

The Dali, a Singaporean-flagged cargo vessel almost three football fields long, remains stuck under debris from the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 27, 2024 after crashing into it. © Roberto Schmidt, AFP

The investigation continues to determine why a container ship, the Dali, smashed into a pillar of the 2.6 km span of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key bridge in early morning darkness on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and leaving six construction workers presumed dead.

However, establishing the precise cause of the accident will be just the first step in untangling the question of who will shoulder the financial cost of the disaster, which will be considerable.