After Five Weeks, Container Ship Is Freed in the Chesapeake

It took five weeks and three attempts, but the Ever Forward, a 1,095-foot container ship owned by the same company that blocked the Suez Canal last year, was freed on Sunday.

According to the United States Coast Guard, the Ever Forward ran aground in the bay near the Craighill Channel on March 13 while it was on its way to Norfolk, Va.

The agency said in a statement that there were no injuries, pollution or damage to the vessel. The ship, which became stuck about 20 miles southeast of Baltimore, was not obstructing the channel.

The first attempt to refloat the ship was made by the Coast Guard, the Maryland Department of the Environment and the owner of the ship. Their efforts were not successful.

The ship wouldn't budge the next day.

The ground force of the Ever Forward was too much for salvage experts to overcome, according to the Coast Guard.

On April 4, the authorities announced a new plan: They would continue to dredge the river to a depth of 43 feet and then begin to unload the Ever Forward containers onto barges that would shuttle them back to Baltimore.

Once the ship's load was lightened, tugs and pull barges would attempt another refloat as the authorities continued to monitor for pollution. The ship's stability would be tracked by a naval architect.

The best chance of successfully refloating the Ever Forward would take about two weeks, the Coast Guard said.

The effort to refloat the ship succeeded early on Sunday, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

In a statement, the agency said it had removed 500 containers from the ship and had dredged more than 200,000 yards of material from the estuary's bed, which would be used to offset erosion.

The Coast Guard commander for the Maryland-National Capital region said that it was a rare occurrence.

There were many possible reasons a ship could run aground, and the Coast Guard would continue to investigate how the ship became stuck.

The Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, ran aground six days after it left the canal.

The Ever Given became stuck on March 23, 2021, blocking a channel that is believed to handle 10% of global commercial maritime traffic.

By the time the ship was out of the water, 361 vessels were waiting to pass through the canal. The shipping industry was badly affected by the incident.

The executive director of the Maryland Port Administration described the task of freeing the Ever Forward as an outstanding team effort that was aided by the Easter Sunday rising.