Philosophers have for over two millennia debated the irresistible force paradox, usually formulated as ‘What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?’ Variants of the problem date back as far as China in the third century BCE and ancient Greece.

The world got one answer to the question on March 26, 2024, when a Singapore-flagged boxship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge that spanned Baltimore harbour in the US.

The vessel was inevitably damaged, the bridge collapsed, and six people from a maintenance crew working on the bridge at the time were killed.

Within days, the owners and managers of Dali filed for limitation of liability. If their suit is successful, Grace Ocean, Synergy Marine and their insurers will pay out no more than $44m.

In this edition of the podcast, Lloyd’s List insurance and law editor David Osler unpacks what happens next in what could turn out to be one of the costliest marine casualties of all time.