Dali ship operator charged over deadly Baltimore bridge collapse

The operator of the M/V Dali, the container ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26th, has been charged in connection with the deadly collapse. The incident resulted in the deaths of six construction workers and significant economic disruption due to the closure of the port. Prosecutors allege the ship lost power twice within four minutes, leading to the collision. The first outage was reportedly due to a loose wire, while the second was caused by the crew's use of an unapproved flushing pump for generators, which failed to automatically restart after a blackout. Investigators identified multiple contributing factors, including electrical power loss and issues with the ship's fuel system.

Federal prosecutors have charged the Singapore-based operator of the container ship Dali, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., and a key employee, technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, in connection with the March 26, 2024, collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. The indictment alleges that critical decisions made by the ship operator and Nair led to the disaster, which killed six construction workers. The charges include conspiracy, willfully failing to inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a hazardous condition, obstruction, and making false statements. An FBI investigation focused on the vessel's operations and pre-departure knowledge of critical systems issues, which the NTSB previously attributed to electrical blackouts disabling the ship's controls.