Tanker-bridge dispute scheduled for trial in N.H.

A dispute over who should pay for the $2.4 million in damage to a bridge connecting New Hampshire and Maine has been scheduled for trial in federal court in October 2014. The 473-foot oil tanker MV Harbour Feature struck the bridge on April 1 after breaking away from a pier. The bridge connecting Portsmouth to Kittery, Maine, was shut down several weeks for repairs. In dispute is whether the fault lies with the tanker, or the states of Maine and New Hampshire, which own and/or manage the bridge and nearby port.