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The owners of the Dali container ship involved in the deadly collapse of
a Baltimore bridge last week, after it crashed into the structure, have
denied responsibility and are seeking to limit their legal liability.

Grace Ocean Private Limited, the ship’s owner, and the manager Synergy
Marine Pte said in a federal court filing on Monday that they denied any
fault or neglect of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that
claimed the lives of six construction workers.

The companies are asking for exoneration from liability, but if they are
held responsible in lawsuits, the companies are asking for a cap on any
payout.

The joint filing, submitted in a Maryland District Court, seeks to cap
the companies’ liability at roughly $43.6m.

“The [bridge collapse] was not due to any fault, neglect, or want of
care on the part of [ship owner & operator], the Vessel, or any persons
or entities for whose acts [ship owner & operator] may be responsible,”
the filing stated.

“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 [ship owner & operator] privity or knowledge.”

The owner and operator of the Dali vessel 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.

The filing estimates that the vessel itself is valued at up to $90m and
was owed over $1.1m in income from the freight. They also estimate that
repair costs will be at least $28m and at least $19.5m in salvaging the
ship.

A sum of $60m in emergency aid has already been approved by President
Joe Biden’s administration last week, to begin the process of removing
debris from the water.

In a news release, the US Department of Transportation referred to the
funds as a “downpayment toward initial costs”.

The 300-metre-long vessel had a cargo of 4,679 containers when it lost
power and collided with the bridge in the early hours of the morning on
26 March.

Construction workers were on the 1.6-mile-long bridge at the time of the collapse, with the structure falling into the Patapsco river below.

Two people were rescued shortly after, but six people, all construction workers, remained missing in the days after until two bodies were
recovered from the disaster area submerged in the water.

Four people remain missing but have been presumed dead by authorities.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/dali-ship-owners- deny-responsibility-b2522029.html

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