ENTRE News – Losses resulting from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, United States due to being hit by a container ship are estimated at billions of US dollars. Analysts at Barclays estimate that the total cost of insurance claims resulting from this incident could reach US$3 billion or IDR 47.62 trillion (exchange rate of 15,874 per US dollar).
It is said that the losses will be borne by the insurance company. The container ship named Dali that hit the bridge is owned by Grace Ocean Private, a company based in Singapore. The ship is insured by the Britannia Protection and Indemnity Club which is a member of marine insurance under the International Group of P&I Clubs.
The International Group of P&I Clubs is a consortium that provides marine liability protection for 90 percent of maritime transport claims and pools liability among members. This insurance company is supported by other insurance companies, otherwise known as reinsurance.
Moody’s analyst Brendan Holmes said about 80 different reinsurance companies provided about $3 billion in coverage to Dali’s insurers. He added that because losses would be spread across many insurance companies. So, it is unlikely that the company will go bankrupt or cause a large increase in insurance prices.
However, the total cost of rebuilding the bridge has not yet been confirmed. Insurance Information Institute spokeswoman Loretta Worters said the bridge could be worth more than $1.2 billion.
“Then there will almost certainly be huge liability claims, medical costs for survivors, cleanup costs, and more,” he said.
Tulane University Maritime Law Center Director Martin Davies said although the Dali was owned by Grace Ocean Private, when it hit the bridge, the ship was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk. However, he said all responsibility lies with the ship owner, namely Grace Ocean Private.
“Maersk, the Danish company that owns all the cargo on the ship, is not responsible,” he added.
But he added that shipowners have the potential to significantly limit the amount of their liability in this case. On the other hand, US President Joe Biden said the federal government would pay the costs of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. However, it is not yet known exactly where the source of the funds came from.
“I intend to have the federal government pay the full cost of reconstructing the bridge. And I hope Congress supports my efforts,” Biden said.
Some funding is thought to likely come from the Federal Highway Administration, as well as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed under the Biden administration that provides grants to repair the nation’s bridges. But this also requires additional funding from Congress.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was hit by the Dali container ship sailing on the Patapsco River bound FOR4D for Sri Lanka. At around 01.24 am local time, the ship experienced a power failure which resulted in all the lights going out.
Three minutes later, the ship hit one of the pillars of the Baltimore bridge. The collision then collapsed almost the entire bridge and caused vehicles passing on it to fall into the river.
Dali’s ship likely hit the main concrete pylon, which lies in the ground underwater and is part of the bridge’s foundation.