The container ship at the centre of a casualty that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is sailing again nearly six months after the incident.
Tracking data from VesselsValue shows the 9,962-teu Dali (built 2015) departed Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday.
The ship’s location transponder shows it is headed for the major Chinese container port of Ningbo. It is listed as in ballast, meaning it is travelling without cargo.
The Singapore-flag vessel crashed into the bridge in March, killing six people, causing the bridge to collapse, shutting down the port of Baltimore and sparking a legal battle.
After it was extracted from the wreckage of the bridge, the Dali was moved to Virginia’s port of Hampton Roads for cargo offloading and repairs.
The ship is owned by Singapore’s Grace Ocean and is under the technical management of Synergy Marine, while shipping databases show that it remains on charter to AP Moller-Maersk.
The casualty remains the subject of a legal battle in a federal court in Baltimore, where Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine are aiming to limit their liability to $44m.
TradeWinds reported on Wednesday that the US government has filed a claim for $103m in the casualty.
More such filings are possible from others impacted by the incident.
Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for Singapore-based manager Synergy Marine and compatriot owner Grace Ocean, said the US claim is anticipated ahead of a 24 September deadline.
“The owner and manager will have no further comment on the merits of any claim at this time, but we do look forward to our day in court to set the record straight,” he said.
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