"It feels like a very substantial loss, potentially the largest-ever marine insured loss, but not outside parameters that we plan for," chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown told CNBC.
"We're beginning to deploy resources in anticipation of this being a very substantial claim for the industry," he added.
Six of an eight-man construction crew are believed to have been killed in the incident, which took place in the early hours of Tuesday.
With vessel traffic at the Port of Baltimore suspended after the accident, experts have warned of knock-on economic effects, especially locally.
Baltimore is the biggest vehicle-handling port in the country, including cars and heavy farm equipment, according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. About $100 to $200 million in value comes through the port daily.
Apart from thousands of workers at the port, Maryland Governor Wes Moore warned in an earlier interview that over 140,000 people could be indirectly impacted by disruptions.
Carnegie-Brown told CNBC that there would be claims for the ship, cargo and the bridge, but it is the "second-order impacts" that would become substantial.
"A lot of business is going to be interrupted," he said, noting that supply chains would be disrupted by ships trapped inside the port and those initially trying to gain access.
"Those second order effects will take some time to work through," he added.
A US government supply chain disruptions task force met on Wednesday to discuss the potential impacts on regional and national supply chains, following the bridge collapse, said a White House statement.
Since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, "the White House and federal agencies have engaged extensively with industry, ocean carriers, ports and labor unions to minimize disruptions as shipments are rerouted while the Port of Baltimore is closed to ship traffic," the White House added.
Sweden says worker negligence behind motorway landslide
Stockholm (AFP) Mar 28, 2024 -
Swedish authorities said Thursday that worker negligence at a construction site was believed to be behind a landslide that tore apart a motorway in western Sweden in September.
The landslide, which struck the E6 highway in Stenungsund, 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Sweden's second-largest city Gothenburg, ripped up a petrol station car park, overturned lorries and caved in the roof of a fast food restaurant.
Prosecutor Daniel Veivo Pettersson said Thursday he believed "human factors" were behind the landslide as "no natural cause" had been found during the investigation.
He told a press conference the landslide had been triggered by a nearby construction site where too much excavated material had been piled up, putting excessive strain on the ground below.
"At this stage, we consider it negligent, in this case grossly negligent, to have placed so much excavated material on the site," Pettersson said.
Pettersson added that three people were suspected of among other things gross negligence and causing bodily harm, adding that the investigation was still ongoing.
The worst-hit area covered around 100 metres by 150 metres (330 by 500 feet), but the landslide affected an area of around 700 metres by 200 metres in total, according to emergency services.
Three people were taken to hospital with minor injuries after the collapse, according to authorities.
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