Ship operator and employee are charged in crash that caused the deadly collapse of Baltimore bridge [View all]
Last edited Tue May 12, 2026, 01:05 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: AP
Updated 12:33 PM EDT, May 12, 2026
BALTIMORE (AP) Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges Tuesday in the 2024 collapse of Baltimores Francis Scott Key Bridge, accusing a Singapore-based ship operator and a senior employee of making critical decisions that caused a vessel to crash into the span, killing six people, and covering up what happened.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called it a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence.. The indictment names Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd., based in Chennai, India. Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, an Indian national who was technical superintendent for the Dali container ship, was also charged.
The Dali, bound for Sri Lanka, lost power twice in a four-minute span as it moved to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge on March 24, 2024. Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss that caused its steering to fail.
After regaining power, the ship found itself in trouble again. The Dali turned to a certain pump to supply fuel to two generators but the pump was not designed to automatically restart after the first blackout, so a second blackout occurred, the indictment says.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/baltimore-key-bridge-collapse-charges-dali-ship-4ac521ff538bc4f9d90ef6d2fb6d3ce2
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Article updated.
Original article -
Updated 11:43 AM EDT, May 12, 2026
BALTIMORE (AP) Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges Tuesday in the 2024 collapse of Baltimores Francis Scott Key Bridge, accusing the Singapore-based operator of a ship and a key employee of making critical decisions that led to the ship crashing into the span and killing six people. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called it a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence.
The indictment names Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd., based in Chennai, India. Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, an Indian national who was technical superintendent for the Dali container ship, was also charged.
The Dali lost power twice in a four-minute span as it moved to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge on March 24, 2024. Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss.
If the Dali had used the proper fuel supply pumps, according to the indictment, the vessel would have regained power in time to safely get under the bridge. It crashed instead, killing six construction workers who had been filling potholes.