Dali chief engineer reaches deferred prosecution deal over 2024 Key bridge collapse

The chief engineer of the 984-foot cargo ship Dali that destroyed Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge and killed six construction workers in a March 2024 collision reached a deferred prosecution agreement, the government said on Thursday.

The Justice Department said Karthikeyan Deenadayalan admitted to failing to report a hazardous condition to the U.S. Coast Guard, including that he was aware the Dali used an unsafe fuel supply pump. Last month, a federal grand jury indicted two foreign operators and a shoreside superintendent in the incident.

Deenadayalan, an Indian national, will face 36 months of probation and if he complies with the terms of the agreement will not face prosecution.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 7:37 PM.