The U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against Singapore-based Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, India-based Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, and technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair for their roles in the March 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. The 18-count federal indictment, unsealed Tuesday, alleges conspiracy, failure to report hazardous conditions, obstruction, false statements, and Clean Water Act violations. Six construction workers were killed when the container ship Dali struck the bridge after losing power twice.
Prosecutors allege Synergy improperly used flushing pumps to power the vessel’s generators — a practice they say was deployed on at least three Synergy-managed ships since 2020 — and then provided false documents and statements to investigators. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called the collapse “a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence.” Synergy disputed the charges, accusing the DOJ of “criminalising a tragic accident” and pointing to NTSB findings that traced the initial power loss to a loose wire.
Hours after the indictment was announced, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown disclosed a finalized $2.25 billion civil settlement with the ship’s owner and operator — the largest settlement to date in the Key Bridge disaster. Maryland is continuing to pursue claims against shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries, which the NTSB found at fault in its November 2025 report.
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Original Article from ENR | Written by Jim Parsons
