Maryland is about to get $350 million from insurance in bridge collapse

The state of Maryland is about to get an insurance payment of $350 million related to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in late March, according to the broker handling its policy on the structure.

The payment would come from insurer Chubb, which has a $350 million limit on the policy it had written on the bridge, according to Henry Daar, head of property claims, North America for WTW, the broker on the policy. The payment will be made soon rather than waiting for the construction of a new bridge to begin, a process that could be years away.

The policy will only cover a small fraction of the billions in damages and the clean-up costs associated with March 26 collapse caused by a cargo ship, the Dali, a Singaporean-flagged container vessel, that lost power and slammed into one of the bridge’s support columns.

So far, 3,000 tons of wreckage and debris have been removed from the site for disposal or recycling, according to the latest update from the unified government command overseeing the effort. An estimated 50,000 tons of wreckage still needs to be removed from the site.

Unified command reports that more than 350 uniformed and civilian workers from 53 federal, state and local agencies nationwide are deployed to Baltimore for the ongoing recovery and salvage efforts. In addition, 553 contract specialists are actively involved in various roles related to dive, crane and vessel operations.

The accident temporarily closed much of the operations of the Port of Baltimore, trapping ships in the port. Four temporary channels have been reopened since the accident allow some resumption of ship traffic. As of a week ago, 171 commercial vessels have transited the alternate channels, including five of the vessels waiting to depart Baltimore since March 26.

Last month the city of Baltimore filed a legal claim on Monday against Grace Ocean Private Limited, which owns the ship; and Synergy Marine PTE LTD, which managed it. The suit accuses both companies of providing the vessel with an “incompetent crew” that lacked proper skill and training, according to the claim obtained by CNN. The city is seeking unspecified damages from both companies. Chubb could also file suit seeking reimbursement for the money it will have to pay to the state.

The cause of the accident has yet to be officially determined. A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board could be out as soon as next week. But a final report could be more than a year away.

The planned payment by Chubb was first reported Thursday by the Wall Street Journal.