The U.S. government has filed charges against two Singapore firms and an Indian ship superintendent for criminal conspiracy and obstruction relating to the crash of the cargo ship Dali that caused Baltimore’s Key bridge to collapse in March 2024, killing six workers.
The Department of Justice said a federal court unsealed an indictment today charging the three defendants with conspiracy to defraud the United States and with causing the death of six construction workers and $5 billion in economic losses, among other charges.
Those charged are ship operators Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, based in Chennai, India, along with Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, an Indian national who worked for both companies as the technical superintendent for the Dali.
The three are 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 two Synergy corporations are also charged with misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act, and Refuse Act for the discharge of pollutants into the Patapsco River, including shipping containers and their contents, oil, and the bridge itself.
In announcing the indictment, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the collapse of the bridge was a “preventable tragedy of enormous consequence” and the indictment is a “critical step toward holding accountable those whose reckless disregard for maritime safety regulations caused this disaster.”
According to the indictment, the Dali lost power twice in a four-minute span, as it navigated out to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge. The indictment alleges that a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss, which is a finding made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as part of its investigation.
Single Loose Wire Led to Blackout That Caused Dali Crash Into Baltimore Bridge
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. But shortly after the vessel regained power, it lost power again, according to the indictment, and the defendants allegedly altered the ship and relied on a flushing pump to supply fuel to two of the Dali’s four generators. However, the flushing pump was not designed to automatically restart following a blackout, and the Dali’s generators could not operate without a fuel supply, so the ship ultimately experienced a second blackout, thee indictment maintains.
The indictment alleges that had the Dali used the proper fuel supply pumps, the vessel would have regained power in time to safely navigate under the bridge.
Synergy and Nair are also charged with obstruction of an agency proceeding and providing false statements and documents to the NTSB as it conducted its investigation. The obstruction charges relate to Nair’s alleged statements to the NTSB that he was unaware that that the Dali was using the flushing pump to provide fuel to the generators.
Estimate to Rebuild Baltimore’s Key Bridge Doubles to $5 Billion
The NTSB report indicated that the six lives lost may have been saved if not for a communications lapse. The seven highway workers and inspector on bridge at the time were not notified of the Dali’s emergency situation before the bridge collapsed.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The criminal charges come about a month after the state of Maryland reached a civil settlement in principle with Grace Ocean Private Limited, Dali’s owner, and Synergy Marine, resolving a portion of the state’s claims arising from the tragedy. Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has not disclosed details of the settlement but said the settlement resolves claims brought against the vessel interest by the state and its agencies, including the Maryland Transportation Authority, the Maryland Port Administration, and the Maryland Department of the Environment. The settlement did not resolve any claims the state may bring against the shipbuilder, Hyundai.
Dali’s owner Grace Ocean has argued that the state officials bear “significant liability and fault” in light of “decades of records” showing the state failed to properly protect the bridge, which was built in the 1970s with minimal pier protection. Grace Ocean is suing the shipbuilder, Hyundai.
In October 2024, Grace Ocean and Synergy agreed to pay $102 million to resolve a civil claim brought by the U.S. for costs related to the catastrophic bridge collapse. That payment reimbursed the federal government for money spent clearing massive amounts of debris from the Port of Baltimore’s main shipping channel, which remained closed for months after the collapse.
After announcing that U.S. settlement, a spokesperson for Grace Ocean said it wasn’t an admission of responsibility or wrongdoing.
The NTSB has criticized Maryland officials for failing to conduct a risk assessment of the Key Bridge before it collapsed. The state has maintained that the collapse was solely the fault of the Dali and its owners.
Top Photo: Baltimore Key Bridge collapse in 2024. NTSB photo.
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