Baltimore’s Frances Scott Key Bridge Disaster Declared a Crime Scene

But an early report from the Vessel Tracker website declared: “…enquiries into the cause of the ship’s failure to navigate safely have commenced. The accident site was being treated as a crime scene.” (emphasis added)

So far, no public authority has made any statements on possible criminal aspects of the incident. The “crime scene” declaration may simply reflect the fact that when an accident involves loss of life, possible criminal charges must be addressed. In the Dali disaster, six workmen engaged in highway repairs on the bridge’s roadway are missing and presumed dead. Who is ultimately responsible?

Is a criminal investigation routine, or do authorities suspect findings of criminality due to negligence, failure to follow prescribed procedures in maneuvering the ship, or in preparing it to depart the Baltimore port fully loaded? The question also remains of whether the ship was under cyberattack, as some have speculated, but which officials vehemently deny.

Vessel Tracker also now states that, “The crew of the Dali will remain on board the vessel until the investigation into the accident has been completed. Representatives from Grace Ocean Private and Synergy Marine, the Singapore-flagged ship’s owner and managing company respectively, reported that all crew members were actively engaged in their standard duties and are assisting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Coast Guard with the ongoing investigation.”

Some say, however, that the investigation may not be easily completed. An informant with military seagoing experience writes, “The operations in this accident are unknown and will not be examined, certainly not in the media, until the lawyers and insurance clerks dig into the sequence. Any comments now are conjecture. May take years to sort the operations out.”

So, will the crew of the Dali “remain on board the vessel” for years? Somehow, I doubt it. At some point they will be released to go home, probably without charges. The criminality, if any, would likely reach much higher into the ship’s ownership. But any damages would likely become a matter of civil jurisdiction, not a criminal matter. That’s how these things work…