Owner of the "Dali" ship charged in deadly Baltimore bridge collapse

2026-05-12 21:49:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against the owner of the cargo ship Dali, two years after the ship struck Baltimore's Key Bridge, causing it to collapse and killing six people.

Synergy Marine, the company that operated the vessel, along with one of its employees, have been charged with conspiracy, obstruction, and misconduct resulting in death, among other things.

Prosecutors allege the company misled investigators about conditions on the ship and failed to disclose hazards and other safety concerns to the U.S. Coast Guard.

A Synergy spokesman said the company "will defend itself against these allegations vigorously."

"The DOJ is criminalizing a tragic accident," the company said in a statement to the BBC. "The allegations in the indictment are baseless and have nothing to do with DALI's alliance with the Francis Scott Key Bridge."

In a statement Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the bridge collapse was "a preventable tragedy with far-reaching consequences."

"This indictment is a critical step towards holding accountable those who, through reckless disregard for maritime safety regulations, caused this disaster," he said.

The indictment, which was unsealed Tuesday, covers the company's operations based in Singapore and India. Dali's technical supervisor, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, also faces criminal charges.

In the early hours of March 26, the container ship M/V Dali crashed into the historic Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing several vehicles on the bridge to plunge into the river and killing six construction workers.

The bridge collapse also caused significant economic disruption, as maritime transport was halted.

The city is still working on rebuilding the bridge, which is expected to take years and cost billions of dollars.

The National Transportation Safety Board has identified multiple factors, including loss of electrical power from a faulty cable, problems with a fuel pump on the ship, and a lack of countermeasures to reduce the bridge's vulnerability.

In the court filing, prosecutors say the Dali ship hit the bridge because the ship lost power twice in a span of four minutes.

The first power outage, prosecutors say, was caused by a loose wire in a power plant. They allege the second outage occurred because the crew was relying on a discharge pump to fuel two of the ship's generators.

Prosecutors said the ship was not approved to use a bilge pump for its generators, as the pump was not designed to restart automatically after a power outage.

If the crew had used the "proper" fuel supply, the ship would have regained power before hitting the bridge, they added.

In its statement to the BBC, Synergy said the ship's use of the bilge pump was "completely irrelevant to the cause" of the crash.

The indictment also alleges that Synergy employees were aware of the improper use of the discharge pump and “took steps to conceal the use” on the Dali and other vessels.

Prosecutors also allege that the company falsified security data.

Meanwhile, in a separate civil case, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced on Tuesday that the state had reached a $2.25 billion (£1.66 billion) settlement with Synergy Marine over the bridge collapse.

This settlement resolves a lawsuit the state filed against the company in 2024 for damages related to the bridge's destruction, environmental damage, loss of tax revenue, and other economic losses to Maryland and its residents.

The ship's owner has already paid the Justice Department over $100 million to settle a civil lawsuit over damages caused by the bridge, as well as $350 million to the Maryland state insurance company.