DOJ criminally charges operators of ship that collapsed Baltimore bridge

The Department of Justice announced obstruction and misconduct charges against the operators of a ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge in 2024. When the MV Dali, a container ship, lost power and struck a supporting pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, a huge section of the bridge collapsed within seconds. Six people who were part of a road crew working on the bridge plunged into the water below and were killed. They were: Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, from Mexico; Carlos Hernandez, 24, also from Mexico; Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, and Jose Mynor Lopez, 35, from Guatemala; Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 38, from Honduras; from Guatemala; Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49, from El Salvador.

Two of the international firms who operated the Dali (both subsidiaries of Singapore-based Synergy Marine Group) and the ship’s technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, are accused of intentionally and knowingly using a faulty fuel pump. Loss of power in this fuel pump played a key role in the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said that the initial cause of the power loss was a loose wire. The label on the end of the wire was misplaced and prevented it from forming a firm connection. The power loss caused the fuel pump to fail. This pump could only be started manually. That wasn’t done quickly enough to avoid the collision with the bridge as the ship drifted.