DOJ Charges Corporations and Individual Over Roles in Baltimore Key Bridge Crash

The U.S. Department of Justice charged corporations and an individual Tuesday with responsibility for the March 26, 2024, collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after the container ship Dali lost power and struck a support column.

The charges target the vessel's owner, manager, and an individual crew member, per the announcement by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. The venue is the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Prosecutors cited violations including the Ports and Waterways Safety Act and criminal negligence provisions tied to the allision that killed six bridge workers and severed a critical East Coast shipping artery.

The bridge collapse halted vehicle traffic across a 1.6-mile span that carried more than 34,000 vehicles daily and blocked the Port of Baltimore, which handled 847,158 vehicles and $1.2 billion in cargo value in the month before the crash. The federal government has already committed more than $1.6 billion in emergency relief for immediate channel clearing, temporary channel creation, and initial bridge debris removal.

The charges shift the operational state from an ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation and federal emergency response to active litigation that will allocate financial responsibility. The new state requires the named defendants to respond in district court, with discovery and potential trials or settlements to follow on a timeline set by the judge.

No specific compliance deadlines were announced in the charging documents.

Downstream, the prosecutions will determine reimbursement to the Federal Highway Administration's Emergency Relief Program for the $1.6 billion already spent and any additional reconstruction costs estimated above $2 billion. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must continue channel restoration while the civil claims proceed.

Maryland state agencies will face decisions on permanent replacement bridge design and financing once liability shares are fixed. The rulings will also set precedent for vessel operator accountability in U.S. ports.

This marks the first major federal charging action tied to the 2024 bridge disaster. The Dali had been under the operational control of a Singapore-based manager and owned by a Marshall Islands entity at the time of the incident. Congress separately appropriated bridge replacement funds in the fiscal 2025 appropriations cycle.