The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd and Dali technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair over the March 2024 allision that destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, killed six construction workers and allegedly caused at least $5bn in economic losses, according to the DOJ.
The indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy, willfully failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding and false statements.
The two corporate defendants also face misdemeanor charges under the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act and Refuse Act over the discharge of pollutants into the Patapsco River, including shipping containers, oil and bridge debris.
Prosecutors alleged the Singapore-registered containership Dali lost power twice in four minutes after leaving the Port of Baltimore on 26 March 2024.
The DOJ said the first blackout was likely caused by a loose wire in a high-voltage switchboard. The second allegedly followed alterations that left the ship relying on a flushing pump to supply fuel to two of its four generators, even though the pump was not designed to restart automatically after a blackout. Prosecutors said the vessel would have regained power in time to clear the bridge if proper fuel supply pumps had been in use.
“The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence,” acting attorney general Todd Blanche said.
Synergy rejected the allegations in a 13 May statement, saying it was “surprised and disappointed” by the indictment and that the claims were “baseless and have nothing to do with the DALI’s allision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge.” The company said it would defend itself and argued the power loss resulted from “a manufacturer’s latent defect” involving a loose wire in the vessel’s electrical system.
The criminal case came as Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said the state had reached a $2.25bn final settlement with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd over the collapse, while preserving claims against shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Maryland said the settlement resolves the state’s claims against the vessel interests before a scheduled 1 June trial.
Synergy Marine Group is a Singapore-headquartered shipmanagement company providing technical management, crew management and related maritime services. Company managed more than 750 vessels.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is a South Korean shipbuilder involved in commercial shipbuilding and marine engineering. Maryland’s settlement preserved claims against the company.
