Companies indicted in deadly 2024 Baltimore bridge collapse

A grand jury indicted the companies that operated the ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in 2024 – sending it toppling into the Patapsco River and killing six workers – for charges including neglect and conspiracy to defraud the government.

Synergy Marine, based in Singapore, Synergy Maritime, based in Chennai, India, and employee Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, were listed as defendants in the indictment unsealed in the U.S. District Court of Maryland on May 12.

The companies were charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, failure to report a hazardous condition, obstruction and aiding and abetting misconduct or neglect of ship officers resulting in death, among other allegations. Nair was also individually accused of four overlapping charges.

USA TODAY has reached out to a representative for Synergy Marine Group for comment.

The Dali container ship crashed into a pier that supported the central span of the bridge in the early morning hours of March 26, 2024. The bridge plunged into the river below, killing six construction workers and bringing the major shipping artery at the Port of Baltimore to a screeching halt.

Last month, the state of Maryland announced it reached an agreement to settle with Synergy and Grace Ocean Private Limited, the operators and owners of the ship, for an undisclosed amount.

Prosecutors said in a news release on May 12 that the defendants failed to immediately notify the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous issue with the Dali and made false statements to investigators.

“The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “This indictment is a critical step toward holding accountable those whose reckless disregard for maritime safety regulations caused this disaster."

The Dali lost power twice in the span of four minutes, prosecutors said, likely due to a loose wire in a high-voltage switchboard. The Dali's operators were allegedly using improper fuel supply pumps that did not automatically allow for the ship to regain power and safely navigate around the bridge.

"According to the indictment, the defendants allegedly altered the ship and relied on a flushing pump to supply fuel to two of the Dali’s four generators. However, the flushing pump was not designed to automatically restart following a blackout, and the Dali’s generators could not operate without a fuel supply, so the ship ultimately experienced a second blackout," the Department of Justice said in a statement.

Nair, 47, is an Indian national who worked for the companies as the technical superintendent for the ship. He's accused of falsely telling the National Transportation Safety Board that he was unaware that the Dali was using the improper pump to fuel generators.