In a statement just released, Mediterranean Shipping Company has advised its customers that the Singaporean-based owners of the Dali, which collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, have declared General Average.
The Dali was on charter to Copenhagen-based Maersk, with Synergy Marine acting as its manager and operator, when it destroyed the bridge, killing six people.
“The vessel’s salvage operations are still ongoing, but Maersk Line informed us today that their vessel owners have declared General Average,” MSC said.
“No indication is communicated so far as to when and where their vessel will be berthed and discharged, but this decision indicates that the owners expect the salvage operations to result in high extraordinary costs for which they expect contribution from all salvaged parties under General Average.”
Richards Hogg Lindley, London, has been appointed as the General Adjuster. “They notified us of their intention to keep all containers, including MSC’s containers, under their control until security arrangements have been made with the Average Adjusters, both for General Average and salvage,” MSC added.
The US National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash, with particular attention likely to be paid to the vessel's previously detected propulsion deficiency, according to media reports.
The investigation is expected to be completed in a year.
The executive director of the US Airforwarders Association has said that the event was a preventable tragedy caused by a systematic failure to implement adequate safeguards and a long-term lack of investment in infrastructure.
He said lessons had not been learned from earlier incidents, such as the collision with the Tampa Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1980, which underscored the need for protective barriers to safeguard against ship collisions.
General average is a centuries-old principle of maritime law that allows a vessel owner to force cargo owners to share the financial loss to a ship or losses that were caused by a ship.
