Baltimore ship crash: U.S. slaps criminal cases against Singapore, Chennai firms and Indian national

The US Department of Justice has filed criminal cases against Synergy Marine of Singapore and Synergy Maritime of Chennai, as well as Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, the Indian technical chief of the container ship Dali, which collided with a bridge in Baltimore, US, in March 2024. They were charged with conspiracy, willful failure to promptly notify the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous situation, obstruction of the operations of an agency, and false statements. also pollution.

Synergy manages Dali, with an almost entirely Indian crew. Synergy and the ship’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Limited, agreed to pay approximately $102 million in October 2024 to resolve the civil lawsuit filed by the ministry on this issue.

The Department of Justice claimed $5 billion in economic losses due to the accident that killed six construction workers.

The collision was largely caused by two power outages on the ship. It was claimed that the first power outage was caused by a loose power cable breaking. However, Dali automatically restored power after the first power outage. The second power outage was allegedly caused by the use of an unsuitable fuel pump for generators; this pump ran out of fuel and ran out of fuel, resulting in loss of power and steering, causing the crash. The Ministry of Justice claimed that information about the pump was concealed and false statements were made during the investigation.