Dali Casualty Becomes Largest Loss in P&I Market History

The Dali casualty has become the biggest single loss ever recorded in the P&I insurance market, with reserves now exceeding $2.8 billion.

The claim has reached a level of the International Group’s insurance structure that has never previously been tested by a maritime casualty of this magnitude.

According to Gallagher Specialty, the reserve connected to the 2024 destruction of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge is expected to increase further. The current figure is already more than $1 billion above the previous record payout associated with the 2012 sinking of the cruise ship Costa Concordia.

The Singapore-flagged containership Dali lost power before striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024. Six construction workers were killed in the disaster, which also resulted in the closure of Baltimore’s main shipping channel.

Since the casualty, claims have been submitted by a wide range of parties, including government agencies, infrastructure owners, businesses, cargo interests and the families of victims.

The scale of the Dali loss means it has now entered the International Group’s collective overspill reinsurance protection, effectively taking the claim beyond the conventional group excess-of-loss program that applied during the casualty year.

Based on rounded estimates, approximately $300 million of purchased overspill protection remains available. As a result, shipowner members have not yet been required to pay an overspill levy.

Meanwhile, more than two years after the casualty, physical construction work on Baltimore’s replacement Francis Scott Key Bridge is now underway. Construction crews are driving permanent piles and building an over-water construction trestle, while work is also continuing to remove remaining sections of the former bridge and its marine foundations.

Plans for the replacement bridge include a 1,665-foot cable-stayed main span and approximately 230 feet of vertical clearance. The new structure will also provide considerably greater separation and protection around the navigation channel.

However, the replacement project has grown significantly in both scale and cost compared with initial expectations. The latest estimated cost stands at between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion, while completion of the new Francis Scott Key Bridge is now scheduled for late 2030.