The beginning of legal proceedings regarding the ship that hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge is set to start on June 1, 2026, according to court documents.

The trial is only the first part of the long legal journey for those trying to receive payment for damages incurred during the incident.

The June 2026 trial will determine if Grace Ocean Private, the company that owns the Dali, and Synergy Management Group, the business that managed it, will be eligible for limited liability in that case.

The companies are asking the court to limit how much they have to pay out to about $44 million under a U.S. admiralty law from the mid-1800s.

After that issue is settled, then the court will schedule further proceedings to determine how much the companies owe to the parties that are filing suit.

The city of Baltimore, the state of Maryland, multiple businesses, owners of cargo on the ship and the families of the six people killed on the bridge are all suing the companies.

The trial date is a compromise between requested dates by the companies and those suing.

Attorneys for Grace Ocean proposed that the trial begin on January 18, 2027, while Baltimore and others asked for the trial to begin in December 2025.

U.S. District Judge James Bredar also set other deadlines for the parties.

Cargo interests that want to sue Grace Ocean must file their claims by Nov. 22. Fact discovery will end on July 15, 2025 and depositions must be completed by Feb. 27, 2026.

Last month, the U.S. Justice Department settled with the companies for more than $102 million for the cleanup of the incident.

The U.S. response to the Key Bridge disaster involved efforts from dozens of federal, state and local agencies.

Responders removed about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and asphalt from the Patapsco River.

The incident closed most ship traffic to the Port of Baltimore for nearly three months.

Grace Ocean also paid nearly $100,000 to the Coast Guard National Pollution Fund Center to deal with oil pollution from the incident.