Chief Engineer Karthikeyan Deenadayalan Charged In Francis Scott Key Bridge Disaster That Killed Six Workers

Karthikeyan Deenadayalan, the chief engineer aboard the cargo ship Dali when it struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, now faces a federal criminal charge tied to the catastrophe that killed six construction workers and caused billions of dollars in damage. Federal authorities accuse him of failing to alert the U.S. Coast Guard about hazardous conditions aboard the vessel before it departed the Port of Baltimore.

June 15 filings accuse the chief engineer of violating the Port and Waterways Safety Act. According to the Associated Press, investigators say Deenadayalan knowingly failed to report the use of an improper fuel pump arrangement that later became a central focus of the government's allegations.

Blackouts aboard the Dali occurred twice within minutes while leaving Baltimore in the early hours of March 26, 2024. The second blackout left the vessel without the ability to recover steering and propulsion before it slammed into a support column, bringing down the bridge and killing six road workers repairing potholes overnight.

Deferred prosecution terms were filed alongside the charge, signaling that Deenadayalan and federal authorities have already reached a deal that could eventually allow him to avoid prosecution if specific conditions are met. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Mechanical breakdowns aboard the Dali have remained under review since the disaster. Federal filings allege the ship relied on a flushing pump that was not designed to restart automatically after a blackout, leaving critical generators unable to regain operation when power failed.

Deenadayalan is not the only person swept into the criminal probe. Federal prosecutors previously charged companies linked to the vessel's operation along with technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, accusing them of concealing hazardous conditions and maintaining unsafe practices aboard the ship.

Six construction workers never made it home after the bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River. The destruction shut down one of the nation's busiest shipping channels, disrupted commerce throughout the region, and triggered legal claims that have already produced multi-billion-dollar settlements.

Conditions attached to the agreement still must be satisfied. For families still living with the consequences of the collapse, the criminal investigation continues to widen long after the wreckage disappeared from the water.