Ship operator, employee charged in crash that collapsed Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge | AP News
Updated 3:58 AM AWST, May 13, 2026
BALTIMORE (AP) — Prosecutors announced criminal charges Tuesday in the deadly 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, accusing a Singapore-based ship operator of intentionally relying on an improper fuel pump that contributed to the ruinous crash and then lying about it to investigators.
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.
Synergy Marine expressed disappointment and accused the U.S. Justice Department of turning an accident into a crime.
“This was a maritime casualty that should be assessed through the full factual, technical and regulatory record, rather than through selective mischaracterizations in a criminal indictment. ... Synergy will vigorously defend itself against these inaccurate allegations,” the company said.
Nair’s lawyer, David Gerger, had a similar response, saying his client “thinks about this accident every day, but he certainly did not cause it.”
Disaster began with a loose wire
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 in the early hours of March 26, 2024. Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss that led to its steering failure.
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.
If the Dali had used the proper fuel pumps, according to the indictment, the vessel would have regained power in time to safely get under the bridge. Instead, it crashed into a supporting column of the bridge, killing six construction workers who had been filling potholes.
“As alleged, the bridge was struck and collapsed because those who were responsible for the ship’s operation deliberately cut corners at the expense of safety,” said Jimmy Paul, head of the FBI’s Baltimore office.
The government alleges that the same problem occurred with same type of pump on two of the Dali’s sister ships.