Singaporean and Indian companies face criminal charges over Maryland bridge tragedy

A Singapore-based company and another in India have been indicted on multiple criminal charges over a 2024 ship accident that destroyed a bridge in Maryland and left six people dead. Authorities confirmed the information Tuesday.

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

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

The Dali, a nearly 1,000-foot-long container ship, suffered a series of electrical problems in the early morning hours 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 of the Port of Baltimore.

Six construction workers working on the bridge, all Hispanic immigrants, fell to their deaths.

The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the disaster was a loss of electrical power due to a loose cable connection in a high-voltage switchboard, which caused the vessel to lose propulsion anddirection 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 stated that 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."

"Synergy and Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair repeatedly failed to document, investigate and report significant safety risks and hazards aboard the Dali," Paul said. "They forged safety inspections and certifications."