Evergreen’s ‘Ever Forward’ Refuses To Move Forward Despite Several Refloating Attempts

USCG, Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and Evergreen Marine Corporation continue work to refloat ‘Ever Forward’. Refloat attempts to resume next week following additional dredging to depth of 43 feet. A 500-yard safety zone, around-the-clock monitoring for potential pollution and stability checks on-going.

The US Coast Guard had made a second attempt to rescue a stranded container vessel on Wednesday, almost over two weeks after it had run aground in the Chesapeake Bay. The attempt involved five tug boats that strained to yank the Ever Forward off the bay’s muddy floor north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

If that fails too, a third attempt planned for next week is going to add two anchored pulling barges to five tug boats. If the vessel continues to be stuck, some of the Ever Forward’s almost 5,000 containers of dry goods are going to have to be removed for lightening the load.

Image Credits: @uscgmidatlantic

Tuesday saw tug boats from the shore pulling on the taut lines that were attached to the Ever Forward’s rear, giving out heavy puffs of smoke into the air. Dozens of individuals had gathered to observe the work.

The Coast Guard mentioned that a naval architect is evaluating the vessel’s stability, and the vessel’s fuel and ballast tanks are being monitored for pollution.

The ship was operated by Evergreen Marine Corp. based in Taiwan. It set sail from the Port of Baltimore to Norfolk in Virginia on 13 March when it had run aground. Officials have mentioned that there was no news of injuries, damages, or even pollution.

Image Credits: @uscgmidatlantic

A salvage firm started dredging around the container vessel about a week later and Evergreen said on Tuesday that sufficient material was displaced when trying to free the vessel.

During refloating efforts that took place on Tuesday, officials had extended a 500-yard safety zone around the vessel to 1,000 yards, blocking the navigation channel for commercial traffic.

The Coast Guard has informed that the authorities not been able to figure out what got the Ever Forward to run aground. The vessel, however, is not in the shipping channel. It has also not hindered navigation, unlike the high-profile grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal in 2021, which had disrupted the worldwide supply chain for almost a week.

Reference: detroitnews.com

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Source: Maritime Shipping News