Efforts to Refloat the Ever Forward Begin
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BALTIMORE — The U.S. Coast Guard prepared a second attempt to free a stranded container ship March 30, more than two weeks after it ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay.
The effort will be similar to March 29's attempt involving five tug boats straining to yank the more than 1,000-foot Ever Forward off the bay's muddy floor just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, a safety bulletin said.
If that doesn't work, a third attempt next week will add two anchored pulling barges to the five tug boats. And if the ship still remains stuck, some of the Ever Forward's nearly 5,000 containers of dry goods will have to be removed to lighten the load.
On Tuesday, tug boats could be seen from shore pulling on taut lines attached to the rear of the Ever Forward, sending puffs of smoke into the air. Dozens of people gathered at a park nearby to watch the work.
The ship operated by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp. was headed from the Port of Baltimore to Norfolk, Va., on March 13 when it ran aground north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Officials have said there were no reports of injuries, damage or pollution.
Crews dredge near the containership Ever Forward in efforts to free it on March 21. (Julio Cortez/Associated Press)
A salvage company began dredging around the ship a week later and Evergreen said in a statement March 29 that enough material has been displaced for the attempts to free the vessel. The plan was for five tugboats to work together in the effort and to reduce the ballast water on Ever Forward to lighten the ship, Evergreen said.
At noon, officials extended a 500-yard safety zone around the ship to 1,000 yards, closing the navigation channel to commercial traffic until midnight.
If the ship is not refloated March 29, dredging will start again and a second attempt will be made April 3, officials said. If both attempts at freeing the ship are unsuccessful, the removal of containers will have to begin, according to a marine safety information bulletin.
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The Coast Guard has said it has not yet determined what caused the Ever Forward to run aground. The ship ran aground outside the shipping channel and has not been blocking navigation, unlike last year’s high-profile grounding in the Suez Canal of its sister vessel, the Ever Given, which disrupted the global supply chain for days.
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