May 2 (Reuters) - Chubb, which had insured

Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, is getting ready to pay

$350 million to the state of Maryland, in what could be the

first major payout tied to the collapsing of the bridge in

March.

The payment is expected to be authorized within weeks, a

spokesperson for WTW, the broker for the bridge's

insurance policy, confirmed on Thursday.

The payout is likely to be the first of many related to the

disaster that analysts have said might cost insurers up to $4

billion, making it a record shipping insurance loss.

The tragedy that killed six people occurred after a

Singapore-flagged container ship collided with the landmark

bridge.

The FBI has also launched a criminal probe into the incident

that led to the closure of one of the busiest U.S. ports

Plans for the $350 million payout were first reported by the

Wall Street Journal, which said Chubb, along with Maryland and

the families of the victims of the crash, will likely sue the

ship owner and others to recoup losses from the crash.

Chubb declined to comment to a Reuters request for comment.

The mayor and city council of Baltimore filed a lawsuit

against the owner and operator of the ship last week, accusing

them of negligence.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Carolyn Cohn in

London; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)