BREAKING: Operators of ship that collapsed Baltimore Key Bridge indicted by DOJ

The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that two overseas corporate entities and a superintendent face federal charges for their role in the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, which occurred after the Dali container vessel collided with the structure. 

The Singapore-based Synergy Marine Pte Ltd and India-based Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, as well as 47-year-old Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, an Indian national who worked for both companies as the technical superintendent for the Dali, have been charged with "conspiracy, willfully failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and false statements," the Department of Justice said. 

The two companies have also been charged with misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act, and Refuse Act for the discharge of pollutants into the Patapsco River. The collapse of the bridge resulted in the deaths of six construction workers. 

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement, "The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence. This indictment is a critical step toward holding accountable those whose reckless disregard for maritime safety regulations caused this disaster. Six construction workers lost their lives, critical infrastructure was destroyed, pollutants were released into the Patapsco River and Chesapeake Bay, and the economic damage now exceeds five billion dollars. This Department is committed to securing justice for the victims and ensuring those responsible are held to account."

As the ship navigated out of the Port of Baltimore on March 26, 2024, it experienced two power outages in a four-minute span, which resulted in the crash. Officials have stated that the likely cause of the first power loss of a loose wire. "Critical systems on the Dali were originally designed with reliable redundancies and automatic restart capabilities, so the Dali could quickly regain power after a blackout," the DOJ said. The indictment alleges that "the defendants allegedly altered the ship and relied on a flushing pump to supply fuel to two of the Dali’s four generators," which was not designed to automatically restart in the event of a blackout. "the Dali’s generators could not operate without a fuel supply, so the ship ultimately experienced a second blackout."

Synergy and Nair are charged with providing false statements and documents to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as it conducted its casualty investigation. Nair had allegedly told the board that he was unaware the Dali had been using the flushing pump to fuel the generators.