The Justice Department has filed criminal charges against a Singapore-based global shipping company and subsidiaries, accusing them of safety violations that led to the massive container ship crash that caused the 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Prosecutors accused entities of Synergy Marine Group of fostering unsafe conditions by not maintaining proper systems aboard its ship, the Dali, and others in its fleet. Those lapses left the Dali unable to recover from a blackout of its systems and unable to veer away as it crashed into the bridge in the early hours of March 26, 2024, leaving six men dead.
The indictment, returned under seal in federal court in Baltimore last month, also alleges the company falsified safety inspection records and lied to investigators after the crash.
The company as well as the Dali’s technical supervisor, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, face charges including counts of conspiracy, misconduct or neglect of ship officers resulting in death, violations of the Clean Water Act and Ports and Waterways Safety Act, and obstruction of an agency proceeding.
Kelly O. Hayes, the U.S. attorney in Maryland, is expected to detail the charges alongside officials from the Justice Department, FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency at a news conference later Tuesday morning.
A spokesperson for Synergy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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