Dali crew stuck in Baltimore with Key Bridge collapse criminal trial set for October 2027

Crew members for the Dali, many stuck in Baltimore since the Key Bridge collapse more than two years ago, are pleading to return home.

But that homecoming could be another year and a half away, as a judge set the criminal trial for October 2027 at a hearing Tuesday.

Pushing for freedom 

Some crew members who used to work on the massive Dali cargo vessel and other sister ships managed by Synergy Marine showed up for the hearing at Baltimore's federal courthouse. They are not accused of any wrongdoing. 

Lawyers for Synergy said they should be allowed to travel as the company prepares for a complex criminal trial. 

But they remain in limbo for now.

"We'll see how it affects them. We have to absorb everything," one of their lawyers said. 

Other counsel and Synergy crew members declined to say much to WJZ Investigates other than "no comment."

Synergy Marine wrote a letter to Judge James K. Bredar that states, "…Enough is enough. Security agreements are not meant to keep crew detained for years."

The letter notes that crew members have been "isolated from everything they know. They have been living in hotels in a foreign country, unable to work; their skill sets are dwindling, and their livelihoods are in danger."

Government prosecutors argued they have allowed most crew permission to travel, and they maintained the security agreement keeping them here is necessary to make sure they show up to testify in the criminal trial against Synergy, the Dali's owner Grace Ocean, and Radhakrishnan Nair, the Dali's technical superintendent who remains overseas. 

The Department of Justice revealed in court that there has been no concrete progress getting Nair to Baltimore, but prosecutor Matthew Phelps told Judge Bredar, "We will do everything we can within our powers to bring Mr. Nair to justice in the United States." 

The allegations 

The government alleges the defendants covered up the use of a manual flushing pump, which starved the Dali's generators of fuel and caused a second blackout on the ship, leading to a collision course with the Key Bridge in March 2024.

The defendants deny the allegations. 

At a news conference on May 12, Jimmy Paul, who heads the FBI Baltimore Field office, told WJZ, "The bridge was struck and collapsed because those who were responsible for the ship's operation deliberately cut corners at the expense of safety."

U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes said at that time, "The indictment alleges had they been using the proper fuel supply pumps, then the vessel would have regained power in time to safely navigate under the Key Bridge."

Scheduling the trial 

Judge Bredar told attorneys Tuesday, "The court is not blind to the…outright cruelty of a person bound to stay far from home and family." 

But Bredar rejected Synergy's push for an earlier trial date in January 2027 and set the criminal jury trial for October 2027, as prosecutors requested. 

That trial is expected to last for more than a month, beginning October 4 and ending November 19, 2027.

Synergy's lawyers asked to separate heir case from Mr. Nair's. The judge did not rule on that request.

Synergy's lawyers, including Kiersten Carlson, who spoke for the defense Tuesday, had no comment after the hearing. 

In court, Carlson told Judge Bredar she had "grave concerns" about restrictions on crew members' travel. "Synergy cares about their employees. …It's part of the reason we're pushing for an early trial date," she said. 

The evidence 

The government said they provided defense attorneys more than two terabytes of evidence as part of the discovery process. 

Phelps said the Department of Justice has yet to turn over records from the "in excess of 100" phones they seized as part of their investigation. 

The criminal case is separate from the civil trial, which Judge Bredar delayed following settlements with the families of those who died in the disaster. 

"There was overwhelming evidence of negligence. The ship never should've left the dock, and they had knowledge of certain problems, including blackouts, and they were recklessly indifferent to the fact that they actually could injure people and create this much damage," attorney Jud Lipowitz told WJZ Investigates last month. 

The terms of those settlements have not been made public. 

Lipowitz represents the mother of Maynor Suazo Sandoval, who died when his construction vehicle fell into the water and he became trapped. 

New charges 

A Dali crew member, Karthikeyan Deenadayalan, the ship's chief engineer, was charged criminally this week in this case.

But he never came up in the proceedings on Tuesday.

He is represented by former Baltimore City State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein and has a court appearance scheduled for Thursday before Judge Bredar in Baltimore.