NPR Expands on Charges Against Companies in Key Bridge Collapse

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Federal government files criminal charges in deadly Key Bridge collapse The federal government has filed charges against the companies involved in the deadly 2024 cargo ship crash at Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. National Federal government files criminal charges in deadly Key Bridge collapse May 13, 20266:51 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition From By Scott Maucione Federal government files criminal charges in deadly Key Bridge collapse Listen &middot; 2:10 2:10 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5819609/nx-s1-9768062" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript The federal government has filed charges against the companies involved in the deadly 2024 cargo ship crash at Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. Sponsor Message MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: The federal government has filed charges in the deadly 2024 bridge collapse in Baltimore. Six people died when a huge cargo ship lost power and crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge. A federal grand jury has indicted the companies operating this ship and the vessel's superintendent. Scott Maucione of member station WYPR reports.

+ SCOTT MAUCIONE, BYLINE: The Justice Department brought charges against two companies operated by Synergy Marine Group in Singapore and the ship's superintendent, an Indian national. They're charged with conspiracy, not telling the Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition and providing false statements to the government during the investigation. Kelly Hayes, the U.S. attorney for Maryland, says the ship's operators knowingly used the wrong kind of pump to fuel the ship's generators, making it unable to restart after it lost power and crashed into the bridge, knocking a large section of the 1.6-mile span into the water. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) KELLY HAYES: Synergy employees, including its shoreside technical managers, fabricated and directed the fabrication of safety inspections and certifications related to vessel systems. MAUCIONE: The DOJ alleges the companies were aware of unsafe practices on at least three vessels, dating as far back as 2020. Synergy's also accused of violating the Clean Water and Oil Pollution Acts for contaminants that seeped into the Patapsco River. The corporations could be liable for $10 billion in fines. The DOJ's trying to extradite the superintendent from India. In a statement, Synergy says it will vigorously defend itself from what it called inaccurate allegations. Martin Davies, a maritime lawyer at Tulane University, says the indictment's complex because the defendants are all out of the country. MARTIN DAVIES: There will be jurisdictional issues if the defendants simply don't make an appearance. MAUCIONE: All of this is happening as the city of Baltimore and the victims' families are suing Synergy and the ship owner, Grace Ocean Private, for restitution. The state of Maryland already settled its civil case with the businesses for $2.25 billion. The replacement bridge is projected to be finished in 2030. For NPR News, I'm Scott Maucione in Baltimore. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1168:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1141),c(116),c(95),c(52),c(492),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1142),c(144),c(1143),c(238),c(48),c(1144)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1168,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();