The owner of the container ship that struck the Key Bridge is taking legal measures to try to defray the potentially enormous costs. The massive ship Dali struck a bridge support in Baltimore last month, causing sections of the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse onto a road crew, killing six workers.

The ship’s owner, Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., has invoked a long-standing maritime law principle known as “general average.” This allows the ship owner to require that cargo owners share in covering expenses related to salvaging the vessel and its cargo after a casualty at sea.

Specifically, Grace Ocean has issued a “general average” declaration, which brings in an independent adjuster to determine what portion of the salvage costs each stakeholder with property aboard the ship should contribute. This can include owners of the thousands of shipping containers loaded with goods that were aboard the Dali.

By invoking general average, Grace Ocean aims to spread around the financial burden from this incident, which could become one of the most expensive maritime disasters in U.S. history. The wreck has halted commercial shipping traffic through the critical Port of Baltimore for weeks as crews work to remove debris, offload containers, and eventually refloat the grounded Dali.

Grace Ocean had also previously filed a routine petition to try to limit its own legal liability from the fatal bridge collapse. However, this move is being challenged by attorneys representing families of the six deceased workers and an injured survivor, who argue the company should be held fully accountable.

One major cargo owner, Mediterranean Shipping Company, confirmed it received notice of the general average declaration from the company Maersk that had chartered space on the Dali. This suggests Grace Ocean expects “extraordinary costs” that will require financial contributions from parties who had goods salvaged from the ship.

Once finally refloated, the Dali and its cargo of around 4,000 shipping containers is anticipated to return to the Port of Baltimore. Federal agencies including the FBI and National Transportation Safety Board continue to investigate what caused the deadly incident when the ship inexplicably struck the bridge support on March 26th after losing power.