Feds File Criminal Charges Over Maryland Key Bridge Collapse (1)

Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges in the case of the M/V Dali container ship disaster that destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024.

Singapore-based Synergy Marine Pte, India-based Synergy Maritime Maritime Pte, and Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, the technical superintendent of the Dali, were charged with conspiracy to defraud the US and other offenses, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

The charges were announced at the Canton Marine Terminal in Baltimore by US Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul of the FBI Baltimore Field Office, and Assistant Administrator Jeffrey A. Hall, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

The criminal investigation into the March 26, 2024, allision — a word that describes a ship hitting a stationary object — started within weeks of the disaster.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in late 2025 that a single loose wire on the massive container ship caused an electrical blackout, causing the 984-foot-long vessel to lose control and collide with the southern pier supporting the central truss spans of the bridge.

The 2.37-mile-long bridge subsequently collapsed. Six people who were working on the bridge overnight died, and another two workers were injured. One of the 23 people aboard the Dali was also injured.

“The Key Bridge collapse forever changed Maryland,” FBI special agent Paul said. And it changed six families’ lives forever.

“Alejandro, Miguel, Dorlian, Maynor, Carlos, and Jose were making our roads safer when they lost their lives on that fateful day in March of 2024,” Paul said, listing the first names of those who died.

The collapse happened “because those who were responsible for the ship’s operation deliberately cut corners at the expense of safety,” he said.

Hayes explained that the ship lost power twice the night of the accident. The first time, it quickly regained power. The second loss of power occurred because the ship’s operator relied on a flushing pump that didn’t automatically restart to supply fuel to two of the ship’s generators.

“The indictment alleges that if the Dali had been using the proper fuel supply pumps, then the vessel would have regained power in time to safely navigate under the Key Bridge,” Hayes said.

Attorneys for Synergy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Contact information for Nair wasn’t immediately available.

Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and operator Synergy Marine agreed in October 2024 to pay nearly $102 million to resolve a claim brought by the US under the Rivers and Harbors Act, Oil Pollution Act, and general maritime law.

The claim was part of a legal action Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine filed seeking to limit their exposure to approximately $44 million.

The Maryland Transportation Authority has estimated that it will cost between $4.3 and $5.2 billion to rebuild the bridge, which is expected to open to traffic in 2030. The new estimate is significantly higher than the approximately $2 billion MDTA initially projected, with the increase reflecting increased material costs and design changes meant to improve the bridge’s pier protection system.

The cost of reconstructing the bridge will be funded in part by the American Relief Act, which authorized more than $8 billion for the Emergency Relief Program, the federal share of which will go to the response effort. The state is also contributing funds, including hundreds of millions in insurance proceeds.

The indictment unsealed Tuesday charges the defendants with with conspiracy, willfully failing to immediately inform the US Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and false statements. Synergy is 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.

Nair is believed to be in India, Hayes said. She didn’t speak directly to whether there are ongoing extradition proceedings but said they would use all available law enforcement tools to bring him to justice on US soil.