A full cargo ship is still stuck in the Chesapeake Bay.
“Around 9 pm on Sunday, March 13, there was a phone call from the ship’s Everforward that it had stranded,” Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Breanna Centeno told The Epoch Times. “I don’t know the reason why it happened, but when the ship resurfaces, we’ll investigate to find out the possible causes.”
Owned by Evergreen Marine Corp., the vessel is currently in waters only 24 feet deep.
It left Baltimore, Maryland and headed for Norfolk, Virginia. The vessel is carrying a common dry cargo and the Coast Guard does not know exactly what the container is, but it has confirmed that the cargo is not composed of dangerous goods.
The plan to move the ship has not yet been defined. The Coast Guard and the Maryland Department of Environment are in the process of finalizing a refloat plan, Centeno said.
The Coast Guard has issued a port captain’s order to instruct the ship’s crew to perform sounding every four hours to check the level of liquid in tanks and bilges to prevent leaks and breaches. This method is a safety measure. As of Tuesday afternoon, there are no reports of leaks.
“At this time, there are no reports of ground injury or contamination,” Centeno said, adding that other vessels can also pass through the area. “The ship is stranded outside the route, so there is no danger in sailing.”
EverForward is 1,095 feet long. The home port is in Hong Kong.
Evergreen Marine Corp. is based in Taipei City, Taiwan. It owns more than 150 container vessels, including Evergiven, which was moored on the Suez Canal for six days in March 2021.
The company sent the following statement to The Epoch Times:
“At 20:40 on March 13, EDT, Ever Forward, and 12,000 TEU (Twenty Equipment Unit) container vessels were deployed on the Evergreen Line’s Asia-US East Coast. The accident has not caused a fuel leak. Evergreen has arranged for divers to carry out underwater inspections to confirm damage to the vessel and coordinated with all involved to ship as soon as possible. The incident did not block routes or block traffic to or from the port. The cause of the incident is under investigation by the competent authority. “
On March 7, the company issued a statement on how it is navigating the Ukrainian conflict.
“Recent developments in Ukraine and Russia have disrupted operations in the region, hindering or potentially hindering our ability to complete the transportation of cargo to some destinations. We will do it, “the company said. statement.
As a result, reservations between Odessa in Ukraine and Novorossiysk in Russia have been suspended until further notice, and reservations between St. Petersburg, Russia have also been suspended.
At that time, the company was evaluating freight solutions on the water.
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Beth Brelje is a research journalist who reports on the most interesting and sometimes hidden news in Pennsylvania’s politics, courts, and federals. Send her an idea for your story: [email protected]