Fifth Circuit Remand Clarifies 'Compulsory by Law' Standard for Marine P&I Wreck Removal Coverage After Hurricane Ida

Following Hurricane Ida, Wapiti Energy's crude oil barge SMI 315 grounded on ConocoPhillips marshland, triggering a coverage dispute over $926,840.32 in removal costs under a P&I policy's wreck removal clause requiring removal be "compulsory by law." The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court's initial dismissal, holding that Louisiana possessory action law created sufficient liability to make removal compulsory, and remanded for determination of whether the grounded-but-intact barge qualified as a "wreck" under the policy.