After three weeks stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the massive container ship Ever Forward still isn’t free.
Despite the ongoing dredging and tugging, the ironically named ship has yet to budge, so officials are moving on to plan B — unload the Ever Forward’s nearly 5,000 shipping containers to refloat the vessel.
The Ever Forward, a 334-metre (over 1,095 feet) container ship, trapped itself in the Chesapeake Bay in March, a year to the month its cousin, the Ever Given, blocked the Suez Canal in Egypt.
The Hong Kong-flagged Ever Forward ran aground on March 13 after departing the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The ship was en route to Norfolk, Va.
On Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard announced the containers would be removed from the Ever Forward to lighten the ship’s load before attempting again to float the lodged vessel.
“Salvage experts determined they would not be able to overcome the ground force of the EVER FORWARD in its current loaded condition,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
As was the previous plan, crews will now continue to dredge to a depth of 43 feet while two additional cranes are installed to lift and remove the storage containers. When the Ever Forward became lodged, it was reportedly in only 25 feet of water.
The containers will be removed from the ship and shuttled back to their original onboarding facility, Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore, where they will be offloaded, the Coast Guard said.
Once removed, tugs and pull barges will attempt to refloat the Ever Forward.
The operation is expected to take approximately two weeks, though the timeline is dependent on the weather.
“Ensuring the ship’s stability and monitoring for any signs of pollution continue to be top priorities for the Unified Command and responders,” the Coast Guard said.
As of now, there have been no reports of injuries, damage or pollution.
The reason the ship ran aground is unknown; unlike its cousin the Ever Given, the Ever Forward has (thankfully) not blocked the navigation of other ships.
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