Dali’s owner declares ‘general average’ in Key Bridge disaster. What does that mean?

The latest development in the fallout from the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse traces its roots back millennia. It also could contribute to litigation about who’s paying for what that’s expected to take years.

The owner of the Dali, the massive cargo ship that lost power and knocked down the Key Bridge on March 26, killing six men, has declared “general average,” according to Darrell Wilson, a spokesperson for the ship’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Ltd.

General average, a maritime principle written into shipping contracts...