How Titanic Law can provide relief to Grace Ocean in the Baltimore disaster, millions of dollars of liability can be saved

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, USA collapses into the Patapsco River after a giant container ship collides with a branch. Legal experts say the Titanic law could help the ship’s owner, Singapore-based Grace Ocean, reduce its liability for damages, Bloomberg reports. However, the owner may still have to pay millions of dollars in damage claims. Six people working on the bridge who fell into the water and went missing are presumed dead. A 19th-century law was once invoked by the Titanic’s owner to limit payments for the sinking of the ship in 1912. This law helps protect shipping giants from huge losses caused by disasters at sea.

Martin Davis, director of Tulane University’s Maritime Law Center, claims that the 1851 law could reduce the risk by millions of dollars by limiting a shipowner’s liability to the value of the ship after an accident and any earnings it collected. . Davis said it was a very unusual accident, especially given the footage of the entire bridge collapsing. But in many ways, this is not unusual, because ships collide and there is damage and injuries all the time.

Additionally, shipowner’s insurance will help the company deal with legal risks, the report said. Insurance claims will be based on proving whether the accident was caused by negligence, and if so by whom, or by mechanical failure. The ship is insured by the Britannia Protection and Indemnity Club, a mutual insurance association owned by shipping companies.