BALTIMORE — The Justice Department announced 18 charges Tuesday against the operators of the 100,000-plus-ton cargo ship that crashed into a Maryland bridge more than two years ago, causing it to collapse and killing six people.
Federal prosecutors said they were charging the international companies Synergy Marine Pte Ltd. and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd., as well as the ship’s technical superintendent, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair. The charges included conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and misconduct or neglect of ship officers that resulted in death.
The two companies and Nair were also charged with willfully failing to immediately inform the Coast Guard about a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding and making false statements, according to a statement announcing the charges.
The companies were also accused of misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act and the Refuse Act, the Justice Department said. Those charges are related to the discharge of pollutants into Maryland’s Patapsco River, including the shipping containers, their contents, oil and the bridge itself.
Synergy Marine Group, which includes both companies, said in a statement that federal prosecutors were “criminalising a tragic accident” and that the allegations in the indictment were “baseless.”
“Synergy will vigorously defend itself against these inaccurate allegations,” it said. “Synergy and its employees have fully cooperated and have been transparent at all times during the NTSB’s investigation, and any allegations to the contrary are woefully inaccurate.”
“We are confident that the DOJ cannot and will not meet its burden of proof and that we will prevail at trial,” it said.
NBC News has reached out to Nair for comment.
The 900-foot ship Dali lost power twice and slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge early March 26, 2024, as a work crew was fixing potholes.
Six construction workers died when the bridge crumbled into the Patapsco River. Another construction worker fell into the water and sustained serious injuries but survived, while an inspector working as a subcontractor for the Maryland Transportation Authority escaped without injuries. The nearly two dozen crew members on the ship survived, along with two pilots who were helping it navigate the harbor.
The construction workers were Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, Carlos Daniel Hernández Estrella, Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, José Mynor López, Miguel Ángel Luna González, Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval and survivor Julio Cervantes Suárez.
Cervantes told NBC News in July 2024 that the men who died, who were all Latino, included his nephew and brother-in-law and friends he had known for years.
Jimmy Paul, a special agent in charge with the FBI’s Baltimore field office, said: “Alejandro, Miguel, Dorlian, Maynor, Carlos and José were making our roads safer when they lost their lives on that fateful day in March 2024. The collapse should never have happened.”
The collapse brought the critically important Baltimore port to a standstill for two months, and reconstruction of the bridge continues.
“The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement announcing the charges. “This indictment is a critical step toward holding accountable those whose reckless disregard for maritime safety regulations caused this disaster. 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,” he said.
Synergy Marine Pte Ltd. is based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd. is based in Chennai, India, according to prosecutors. Nair, 47, is an Indian national who was a technical superintendent for both companies.
Prosecutors said they believe the ship’s technical superintendent is in India and that they would use all available law enforcement tools to bring him to the U.S. to face charges.
A National Transportation Safety Board report determined that the 947-foot-long Singapore-flagged cargo ship was transiting out of Baltimore harbor when it lost power and propulsion before it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Kelly Hayes, the U.S. attorney for Maryland, said at the news conference Tuesday that the defendants were alleged to have altered the ship in a way that meant it could not regain power after the second blackout to avoid crashing into the bridge in time.
Attorneys representing the families of four of the men who died and the one survivor said Tuesday afternoon that “today is a historic day.” The attorneys represent survivor Cervantes, as well as the families of Hernández Estrella, Hernández Fuentes, López and Luna.
“It’s a great day for the Department of Justice and a great day for this country and a great day for the victims,” attorney L. Chris Stewart said at a news conference.
Stewart said it was “horrific” reading about allegations “where there are dangerous vessels out there, unbeknownst to the public, unbeknownst to this country.”
“So I think this is a huge turning point, a huge day for the shipping industry. Accountability starts today with this case,” he said.
Attorney Kevin Mahoney said the federal charges showed “a new level to the misconduct” in the crash and the investigation.
“The willfulness behind the fraudulent misrepresentations is a new development, meaning intentionally misleading the NTSB, whose overall goal is to advance transportation safety,” he said.
The attorneys said they were weeks away from a civil trial for the families and will await further decisions from the judge about how to proceed given Tuesday’s announcement of criminal charges.
“The common question that we get from our clients daily is: ‘What is the justice? When is justice coming?’” Stewart said.
Cervantes previously told NBC News he hopes people remember those who died.
“I knew all of them. They were families. They were good people, good workers and had good values,” he said.
Gary Grumbach, Tom Costello and Owen Hayes reported from Baltimore and Daniella Silva from New York City.
