Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against the companies and individuals responsible for operating the cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024, causing its collapse and killing six construction workers.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it has brought 18 charges against international shipping companies Synergy Marine Pte Ltd and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, along with technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, in connection with the disaster.
The charges include conspiracy, misconduct and neglect of ship officers resulting in death, obstruction of an agency investigation, and making false statements to federal authorities. Prosecutors also accused the defendants of failing to immediately report known hazardous conditions to the U.S. Coast Guard after the crash.
Officials said the charges stem from the March 26, 2024 collision involving the cargo ship Dali, a nearly 950-foot-long Singapore-flagged vessel that lost electrical power and propulsion while leaving Baltimore Harbor. The powerless ship slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the early morning hours, causing the massive steel structure to collapse into the Patapsco River.
At the time of the collapse, a road construction crew was repairing potholes on the bridge. Six workers were killed when they were thrown into the river. Another worker survived with serious injuries, while a subcontracted bridge inspector escaped unharmed.
The six workers who died were identified as Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, Carlos Daniel Hernandez Estrella, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Jose Mynor Lopez, Miguel Angel Luna, and Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval. Survivor Julio Cervantes Suarez later told NBC News that many of the victims were close friends and family members.
“They were making our roads safer when they lost their lives,” said Jimmy Paul, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore field office. “The collapse should never have happened.”
In addition to the criminal charges, the companies are facing misdemeanor violations of environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act. Prosecutors said the collapse released pollutants into the Patapsco River, including fuel, shipping containers, debris, and bridge materials.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called the disaster “a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence.”
“Six construction workers lost their lives, critical infrastructure was destroyed, pollutants were released into the Patapsco River and Chesapeake Bay, and the economic damage now exceeds $5 billion,” Blanche said in a statement.
The collapse shut down Baltimore’s busy port for nearly two months, disrupting shipping traffic and commerce across the region. Reconstruction of the bridge remains underway.
A National Transportation Safety Board investigation previously concluded that the Dali lost power twice before crashing into the bridge.
Prosecutors said Nair, a 47-year-old Indian national believed to be in India, will be pursued through all available legal channels to bring him to the United States to face the charges.
Ship Operators Charged in Deadly Baltimore Bridge Collapse
