(Baltimore, MD) —Two shipping companies and a company official have been indicted in connection with the March 2024 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, federal prosecutors announced.
Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pvt Ltd, based in Chennai, India, along with Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, a technical superintendent for both companies, face charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, willfully failing to notify the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction and false statements. The two corporations also face misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act and Refuse Act for discharging pollutants into the Patapsco River.
On March 26, 2024, the Motor Vessel Dali, a 900-foot container ship, struck the bridge, killing six construction workers.
According to the indictment, the Dali lost power twice in a four-minute span as it navigated out of the Port of Baltimore. A loose wire in a high-voltage switchboard likely caused the first outage. The ship briefly regained power before losing it again — the result, prosecutors allege, of defendants modifying the vessel to rely on a flushing pump not designed to automatically restart after a blackout. Had the ship used proper fuel supply pumps, prosecutors say, it would have regained power in time to safely clear the bridge.
Nair is also accused of lying to the National Transportation Safety Board during its casualty investigation, telling investigators he was unaware the Dali was using the flushing pump to supply fuel to its generators.
"The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence," said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. "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."
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes called the indictment "the first step in our efforts to hold those accountable who caused the tragic deaths of six people and catastrophic damage to our region."
FBI Special Agent Jimmy Paul said the indictment "should send a message to all ship operators that circumventing safety requirements and breaking U.S. laws will not be tolerated."
The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Coast Guard Investigative Service and the EPA's Criminal Investigation Division.
