Sawt Falasteen - Singaporean, Indian firms face criminal charges over Maryland bridge crash

Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, based in Chennai, India, are accused of conspiracy to defraud, making false statements to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other charges in connection with the accident.

An Indian national, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, who worked for both companies as technical superintendent for the ship, the M/V Dali, is also named in the indictment unsealed on Tuesday.

The Dali, a 984-foot container ship, suffered a series of electrical problems in the early morning of March 26, 2024, and crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River, which collapsed like a house of cards, blocking the busy shipping channel for the port of Baltimore.

Six construction workers on the bridge, all Latin American immigrants, fell to their deaths.

The NTSB found that the probable cause of the disaster was a loss of electrical power due to a loose wire connection in a high-voltage switchboard, resulting in the vessel losing propulsion and steering as it approached the bridge.

"The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence," acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. "This indictment is a critical step toward holding accountable those whose reckless disregard for maritime safety regulations caused this disaster."

FBI special agent Jimmy Paul said the indictment "reveals a pattern of deception and egregious violations that led to the unsafe operation of the Dali which recklessly endangered the public and resulted in the ship striking the bridge."

"This indictment should send a message to all ship operators that circumventing safety requirements and breaking US laws will not be tolerated," Paul said.

US Attorney Kelly Hayes said an investigation had revealed that Synergy employees "fabricated and directed the fabrication of safety inspections and certifications related to vessel systems."

"Synergy later provided many of these false certifications to the NTSB," Hayes said.

The US Justice Department announced in October 2024 that it had reached a $100 million settlement with Singapore's Synergy Marine Pte Ltd and another company, Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, to recover costs incurred in responding to the disaster and for removing tons of bridge debris from the channel leading to the port of Baltimore.

Maryland authorities have said it will cost more than $5.2 billion to rebuild the bridge with completion envisioned in 2030.

N.Shalabi--SF-PST