Photo: Instagram/Salvage and Wreck and Ship_Spotting_Greece
A large container ship is still giving the U.S. Coast Guard headaches after having been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay channel for nearly a month now. After the unsuccessful attempts to refloat the vessel as it was, authorities decided that there was no other way but to unload it before retrying – an operation that would take weeks.
It’s one of life’s constant little ironies that a vessel named “Ever Forward” would become unable to move after getting stuck in the Chesapeake Bay. That happened on March 13, when the Hong Kong-flagged ship apparently missed a southbound turn and ran aground.
Almost a month later, things aren’t looking any better. It’s like last year’s Suez Canal incident all over again, only at a smaller scale. Also, ironically, Ever Forward is the sister of Ever Given, the one that got stuck in the Suez Canal, as they are both Evergreen vessels.
The 1,095-foot (334 meters) container ship was traveling from Baltimore to Norfolk when the unfortunate missed turn caused it to get stuck near Gibson Island. Authorities attempted to free it several times, and by the end of March, five tugs were hard at work – one was pulling from the stern, two were puling from the starboard side, and the other two were pushing on the port side. But the 5,000 containers on board made all those efforts fail.
Shipping and Freight Resource reports that the U.S. Coast Guard announced that it will change its strategy since the fully-loaded Ever Forward seems to be impossible to move. William Doyle, Executive Director of Port of Baltimore, detailed the plan of using two anchored pulling barges in addition to five tugs.
“Salvage experts determined they can’t overcome the ground force of the Ever Forward in its current loaded condition. Once the containers are removed, crews will again try to refloat the ship,” said the U.S. Coast Guard, cited by the same source.
The barges will transport the containers that were on board Ever Forward to the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore, after which the tugs and the pull barges will resume their attempts to free the ship. The entire operation is expected to take at least two weeks. Until then, the Evergreen vessel continues to be trapped in the Chesapeake Bay.
Almost a month later, things aren’t looking any better. It’s like last year’s Suez Canal incident all over again, only at a smaller scale. Also, ironically, Ever Forward is the sister of Ever Given, the one that got stuck in the Suez Canal, as they are both Evergreen vessels.
The 1,095-foot (334 meters) container ship was traveling from Baltimore to Norfolk when the unfortunate missed turn caused it to get stuck near Gibson Island. Authorities attempted to free it several times, and by the end of March, five tugs were hard at work – one was pulling from the stern, two were puling from the starboard side, and the other two were pushing on the port side. But the 5,000 containers on board made all those efforts fail.
Shipping and Freight Resource reports that the U.S. Coast Guard announced that it will change its strategy since the fully-loaded Ever Forward seems to be impossible to move. William Doyle, Executive Director of Port of Baltimore, detailed the plan of using two anchored pulling barges in addition to five tugs.
“Salvage experts determined they can’t overcome the ground force of the Ever Forward in its current loaded condition. Once the containers are removed, crews will again try to refloat the ship,” said the U.S. Coast Guard, cited by the same source.
The barges will transport the containers that were on board Ever Forward to the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore, after which the tugs and the pull barges will resume their attempts to free the ship. The entire operation is expected to take at least two weeks. Until then, the Evergreen vessel continues to be trapped in the Chesapeake Bay.
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