US bridge collapse could lead to largest marine insurance payout: report

Six of eight construction workers are believed to have died in the incident (File)

Washington:

The collapse of a major Baltimore bridge when a cargo ship collided could result in the largest marine insurance payout ever, the boss of insurance giant Lloyd’s of London said in an interview Thursday.

Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown told CNBC: “This feels like a very significant loss, probably the largest marine insurance loss ever, but is not an external parameter to our plans.”

“We are starting to deploy resources and anticipate this to be a very significant requirement for the industry,” he added.

Six of the eight construction workers are believed to have died in the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore was suspended following the incident, which experts warned could have knock-on economic impacts, particularly on the local economy.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Baltimore is the nation’s largest port for loading and unloading vehicles, including cars and heavy farm equipment. Cargo worth approximately $100 to $200 million passes through the port every day.

In addition to the thousands of workers at the port, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore warned in an earlier interview that more than 140,000 people could be indirectly affected by the disruption.

Carnegie-Brown told CNBC that claims would be made on ships, cargo and bridges, but that “secondary impacts” would be severe.

“A lot of business is going to be disrupted,” he said, noting that supply chains would be disrupted by ships stuck inside ports and those trying to enter ports in the first place.

“These second-order effects take some time to dissipate,” he added.

The U.S. government’s Supply Chain Disruption Task Force met on Wednesday to discuss the potential impact on regional and national supply chains following the bridge’s collapse, a White House statement said.

Since the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, “the White House and federal agencies have worked extensively with industry, ocean carriers, ports and unions to minimize disruptions caused by cargo rerouting during the closure of the Port of Baltimore to ship traffic,” the White House added .

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