MDTA Faults Ship Owner For Key Bridge Collapse, Disputes NTSB Report

BALTIMORE, MD — Maryland officials on Friday disputed a newly released report from the National Transportation Safety Board, stating the blame for last year's deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse rests solely with the ship that hit the span.

"The MDTA maintains the catastrophe and the tragic loss of life was the sole fault of the DALI and the gross negligence of her owners and operators who put profits above safety," the Maryland Department of Transportation said in a statement.

On Thursday, NTSB officials released a report that claimed the state failed to assess the odds a ship would collide with the Key Bridge — a risk which experts now say was 30 times higher for a collapse — led to last year's disaster.

At a news conference, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said that if the MDTA had conducted the assessment, they would have discovered the Baltimore harbor bridge was highly vulnerable and likely could have prevented the March 26, 2024, collapse that claimed the lives of six highway workers.

Ultimately, the NTSB conducted its own vulnerability assessment following the tragedy and found the structure's risk of a "catastrophic collapse from a vessel collision" was above the recommended standards put in place by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in 1991 and 2009, according to the agency.

"This is not new, MDTA could have done this evaluation numerous times over the past several decades," Homendy said.

The Key Bridge collapsed after the cargo ship Dali lost power and crashed into a support column. Following the collision, the crossing plunged into the Patapsco River below, blocking the Port of Baltimore for months and forcing ongoing traffic strain on the Interstate 95 and 895 tunnels.

Highway workers were on the bridge repairing potholes when the collision happened.

The Dali suffered two electrical blackouts that led to major equipment failure hours before it struck the bridge, according to a preliminary report released by the NTSB. Officials wrote that the Dali had experienced electrical problems the day before the collision. In the hours before the ship left the Port of Baltimore on a voyage to Sri Lanka, the ship lost power twice, causing the vessel to lose propulsion and the ability to steer.

During the investigation, Homendy said the NTSB also conducted vulnerability assessments on bridges across the country. On Thursday, the NTSB recommended that 30 owners of 68 bridges over navigable waterways determine how vulnerable the structures are to catastrophic collapse from a vessel collision.

MDTA was included on this list of owners. According to Homendy, the state has yet to conduct a vulnerability assessment on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

"Frankly, we’ve been sounding the alarm on this since the tragedy occurred," Homendy said. "We need action. Public safety depends on it."

On Friday, MDTA officials said the agency planned to provide an update to the NTSB within 30 days that will include any actions it plans to take based on an evaluation of Bay Bridge. Officials said the evaluation was underway when the NTSB requested its results last fall.

"Over the past 50 years, hundreds of thousands of vessels transited under the Key Bridge without incident," the MDTA said in a statement. "The Key Bridge, like other bridges in America, was approved and permitted by the federal government and in compliance with those permits."

Authorities couldn't reach six workers patching the roadway on the bridge to warn them of danger as the Dali drifted out of the navigation channel and toward a support column.

The workers killed were: José Mynor López, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, Carlos Daniel Hernandez Estrella, and Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez.

The group of workers hailed from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

Disastrous Power Outages, FBI Investigation

According to officials, a mistake by a crew member working on a diesel engine part caused the first "in-port blackout." A second blackout in port was attributed to "insufficient fuel pressure," the report said.

Federal agents boarded the cargo ship Dali amid a criminal investigation last year.

Last fall, the state of Maryland filed a lawsuit against the owner and manager of the Dali, one of several filings accusing Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd. of negligence and incompetence following the collapse.

In all, 55 claimants are suing Grace Ocean, including the city of Baltimore, the state of Maryland, and the families of those killed on the bridge.

The first trial against Grace Ocean is set to start in June 2026, WYPR reported. In October, Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine Group agreed to pay more than $100 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.

When it was filed in September, the Justice Department civil claim provided the most detailed account yet of the cascading series of failures that left the Dali’s pilots and crew helpless in the face of looming disaster. The complaint pointed to “excessive vibrations” on the ship that attorneys called a “well-known cause of transformer and electrical failure.” Instead of dealing with the source of the excessive vibrations, crew members “jury-rigged” the ship, the complaint alleged.

It also noted cracked equipment in the engine room and pieces of cargo shaken loose. The ship’s electrical equipment was in such bad condition that an independent agency stopped further electrical testing because of safety concerns, according to the lawsuit.

Following the collision, the crossing plunged into the Patapsco River below, blocking the Port of Baltimore for months and forcing ongoing traffic strain on the Interstate 95 and 895 tunnels.