Federal prosecutors unsealed an 18-count criminal indictment on May 13 against Singapore-based Synergy Marine Private Ltd., its India-based affiliate Synergy Maritime Private Ltd., and technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, charging the companies and individual with conspiracy to defraud the United States and offenses connected to the deaths of six construction workers killed when the cargo ship Dali struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024 [1][2]. The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, marks the first criminal prosecution to arise from the disaster [3]. On the same day, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced a $2.25 billion civil settlement with the ship's owners, a parallel resolution that, taken together with the criminal action, constitutes one of the largest maritime-disaster legal proceedings in U.S. history [1].
Prosecutors allege that the Dali's operators ran the vessel using an improper fuel pump configuration that caused the power failures preceding the bridge strike [2][3]. The indictment further alleges that Nair provided false statements to federal investigators in the aftermath of the collapse, a charge that compounds the underlying safety and conspiracy counts [1][2]. The criminal case was developed jointly by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland and FBI Baltimore, with the government relying on maritime safety regulations and federal obstruction statutes to support the full range of charges [2][3].
The civil settlement announced by Attorney General Brown resolves Maryland's claims against the vessel's ownership interests for the full $2.25 billion [1]. The figure covers the state's damages, which include infrastructure replacement costs for the Key Bridge, a span that remains out of service. The simultaneous announcement of a criminal indictment and a nine-figure civil settlement on a single day is procedurally unusual and signals coordinated resolution strategy between federal prosecutors and state authorities [1][2].
Both the criminal and civil proceedings now move into distinct tracks. On the criminal side, Synergy Marine, Synergy Maritime, and Nair must respond to the indictment; the companies' overseas domicile in Singapore and India raises service and enforcement questions that defense counsel and the court will need to address [3]. The civil settlement terms, including payment schedules and any conditions, have not been fully disclosed in public filings as of the announcement date [1]. Six workers' families and other civil plaintiffs have pursued separate litigation; whether the state settlement affects those claims remains to be seen [2].