Deadly Baltimore Bridge Collapse Finally Leads To Federal Charges
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that it is prosecuting a ship operator who crashed a cargo ship and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore more than two years ago, resulting in the deaths of six construction workers.
The DOJ charges the ship’s technical superintendent, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, an Indian national, with conspiracy, obstruction of agency proceedings, willful failure to notify the Coast Guard of an unsafe condition, and making false statements. Federal prosecutors also charge foreign companies Synergy Marine Pte Ltd and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd. (RELATED: Ship That Toppled Baltimore Bridge Has One Previous Accident And Hardware Problem)
Both companies also face charges for misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act and the Refuse Act, according to the DOJ. These accusations relate to the pollution of the Patapsco River following the initial crash and collapse of the bridge.
“The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is a preventable and enormously consequential tragedy,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “This indictment is a crucial 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,” Blanche added. “This ministry is committed to ensuring that justice is served for victims and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable. »
The ship – known as Dalí — lost power twice in four minutes while sailing in the harbor before the accident, with the indictment alleging that a loose wire in a high-voltage panel likely caused the outage. Backup systems designed to restart the ship quickly helped the ship regain power, but operators reportedly modified the ship to instead rely on a flushing pump to power the generators. (RELATED: “The whole bridge just fell!”: shocking audio released after Baltimore bridge collapse)
The flush pump was not designed to automatically restart after the failure, leading to a second failure and the subsequent accident, according to the indictment. If the pumps had been deployed to supply fuel to the generators, the disaster could have been completely avoided.
