Court Battles

Feds file criminal charges in Baltimore Key Bridge collapse

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by Sarah Davis - 05/12/26 12:49 PM ET

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by Sarah Davis - 05/12/26 12:49 PM ET

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Federal prosecutors have filed the first criminal charges against the operator of the container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore over two years ago.

The wreck, which left six people dead and caused the bridge to collapse, resulted in $5 billion in damages, prosecutors alleged in a 47-page indictment unsealed on Tuesday. A multibillion-dollar project to rebuild the 1.6-mile-long bridge is expected to take years.

The operators of the M/V Dali, Singapore-based Synergy Marine and India-based Synergy Maritime, and the ship’s technical superintendent, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, face 18 counts related to the incident.

The charges include conspiracy, failure to report hazardous conditions, misconduct or neglect of ship officers resulting in death, obstruction, false statements and violations of the Clean Water Act.

The ship crashed into the highway bridge in the early hours of March 26, 2024, after the vessel lost power twice, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) incident report last November.

Six construction workers who were on the bridge were killed and The Port of Baltimore was closed for 77 days after the incident.

Federal prosecutors cited the NTSB report’s finding that Synergy “inappropriate[ly]” used a flushing pump, instead of typical supply pumps, to power two of the container ship’s generators. The indictment also accuses the company of failing to perform adequate safety checks on this technology and concealing its use from the U.S. Coast Guard.

“Unlike the pumps designed to service these generators, the flushing pump could not automatically restart following a blackout,” federal prosecutors alleged in the indictment.

The Hill has reached out to Synergy for comment.

In a press release following the NTSB’s report, the company said it had “fully cooperated” with the federal investigation into the matter and supplied the Board with requested information.

“We note the Board’s findings, including its observations regarding the vulnerability of the Key Bridge’s main support pier, as well as the comments relating to aspects of the vessel’s electrical arrangements,” the company said. “These matters will be reviewed in detail with our technical teams, the vessel owner and counsel.”

Last October, the Justice Department announced a $103 million settlement with Synergy and the ship’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Unlimited, in a civil lawsuit. Another trial involving these two parties is scheduled for this summer to determine whether they should be held liable for the full cost of this incident.

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