Operator of Ship That Hit Baltimore Bridge Faces Federal Charges

The operator of the container ship that lost power and struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge more than two years ago, killing six people and causing the bridge to collapse, faces federal charges.

An indictment unsealed Tuesday charges Synergy Marine's operations in Singapore and India with conspiracy to defraud the United States, failing to inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, false statements and obstructing an agency proceeding. Technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, an Indian national, was also indicted.

The charges mark the first criminal case tied to the MV Dali, which crashed into the Key Bridge as it left the Port of Baltimore early on March 26, 2024. Six highway construction workers died in the collapse. A replacement bridge project is expected to cost billions of dollars and finish by the end of the decade.

Federal prosecutors allege the defendants improperly used a flushing pump to supply diesel to two of the Dali's generators instead of the vessel's proper fuel supply pumps.

Synergy Marine and Nair also face charges of obstruction and false statements during a National Transportation Safety Board investigation. Prosecutors say Nair told the NTSB he did not know the flushing pump had supplied fuel.

CBS News sought comment from Synergy Marine and Nair.

An NTSB report attributes the crash to two onboard power outages. The first stemmed from a loose wire in the ship's switchboard that disconnected and shut down the main engine when cooling water pumps failed. The steering system went offline briefly as well.

The crew restored power at first, but a second blackout followed. The NTSB partly blamed the flushing pump cited in the indictment. Unlike pumps built to supply diesel to generators, the flushing pump, meant to clear fuel lines for maintenance, lacked redundancies and could not restart automatically after an outage. The report deemed its use inappropriate.

The NTSB said the flushing pump had served that role for months before the crash. Synergy managers were unaware of the practice, the agency said, quoting an unnamed technical manager who called it unacceptable to use the flushing pump as a generator fuel source.

In addition to the criminal charges, the Dali's operator Synergy Marine and owner Grace Ocean Private Limited face civil claims from the federal government, Maryland, Baltimore city and county, victims' families, cargo owners and others alleging negligence.