Criminal investigators are looking at whether the crew or companies behind the vessel that crashed into a bridge in the Port of Baltimore, killing six, violated a seaman’s manslaughter statute, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

The Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute, passed in 1838, creates criminal liability for the negligence of mariners and vessel owners or operators that results in the loss of life on the waters of United States, according to MarinerLaw.com. 

The ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board is focusing on the electrical system of the Dali and electrical issues the ship had at dock with providing power to refrigerated containers before it set sail from the Port of Baltimore on the morning of March 26. The ship lost power and crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse, and sending an eight-man crew working on the bridge to plunge into the freezing waters, killing six of them. 

The modern Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute is codified as 18 U.S.C. 1115.  It states:

“Every captain, engineer, pilot, or other person employed on any steamboat or vessel, by whose misconduct, negligence, or inattention to his duties on such vessel the life of any person is destroyed, and every owner, charterer, inspector, or other public officer, through whose fraud, neglect, connivance, misconduct, or violation of law the life of any person is destroyed, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

When the owner or charterer of any steamboat or vessel is a corporation, any executive officer of such corporation, for the time being actually charged with the control and management of the operation, equipment, or navigation of such steamboat or vessel, who has knowingly and willfully caused or allowed such fraud, neglect, connivance, misconduct, or violation of law, by which the life of any person is destroyed, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.” 

The Dali remains at the accident site, where authorities plan to use explosives to dislodge bridge wreckage that is trapping the vessel and blocking the shipping channel. Safety investigators are preparing a preliminary report on the accident.