A 900-ft vessel, Dali, hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, in 2024. Six workers were killed.
Two companies, one Indian and another from Singapore, and an Indian engineer have been charged with conspiring to defraud the US and causing the death of six construction workers in 2024. On March 26, 2024, a 900-ft container vessel, Dali, registered in Singapore, crashed into the bridge. 47-year-old Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair who worked as the technical superintendent for the Dali and worked from both Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, based in Chennai, India.The US charged the three entities with conspiracy, willfully failing to immediately inform the US Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and false statements.The two companies have also been charged with misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act, and Refuse Act for the discharge of pollutants into the Patapsco River, including shipping containers and their contents, oil, and the bridge itself, the Department of Justice said.
US says it was a preventable tragedy
Acting attorney general Todd Blanche said the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was 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 five billion dollars. This Department is committed to securing justice for the victims and ensuring those responsible are held to account.”
How did the crash take place
According to the indictment, the Dali lost power twice in four minutes as it navigated out to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge. A loose wire in a high-voltage switchboard likely caused the first power loss. Critical systems on the Dali were originally designed with reliable redundancies and automatic restart capabilities, so the Dali could quickly regain power after a blackout.But shortly after the vessel regained power, it lost power again.According to the indictment, the accused allegedly altered the ship and relied on a flushing pump to supply fuel to two of the Dali’s four generators. However, the flushing pump was not designed to automatically restart following a blackout, and the Dali’s generators could not operate without a fuel supply, so the ship ultimately experienced a second blackout. The indictment alleged that if the Dali used the proper fuel supply pumps, the vessel would have regained power in time to safely navigate under the Key Bridge.
