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Cargo Ship Stuck in Maryland’s Chesapeake Canal One Year After Sister Ship Blocked Suez Canal

A cargo ship is stuck in Maryland’s Chesapeake Canal. This comes nearly a year after a sister ship blocked the Suez Canal. That’s right. The Ever Forward, which is owned by the same company as last year’s now-famous Ever Given, is causing quite the mess.

At a Glance

  • The Ever Forward ran aground on Sunday night while leaving Baltimore. It remains stuck.
  • The Ever Forward is 1,095 feet long and full of cargo
  • Getting the Ever Forward moving again is going to be difficult without causing damage to the environment.
  • The Coast Guard had an environmental team board the ship to figure out how to free it
  • Officials don’t yet have a timeline for when they’ll start working on getting the Ever Forward unstuck

The Ship Stuck in The Chesapeake Canal Poses Unique Challanges

On Sunday night, the loaded 1,095-foot Ever Forward was leaving Baltimore when it ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay. It was making its way to Norfolk, Virginia.

At a first look, these two situations seem almost comically similar. But there are a few key differences. Last year, the Ever Given found itself stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking one of the world’s most used canals completely. It posed a lot of challenges to the world’s supply chain.

While the Ever Forward is stuck, it’s not in a spot that’ll cause the same supply chain fears. However, it poses a risk to the environment. According to ABC News, Coast Guard officials described the efforts to free the ship without polluting the environment as a “logistical challenge.”

The ship is stuck in 23 feet of water and, unlike the Ever Given, it’s not blocking any traffic. It got caught on what officials believe is a sand bar. An environmental team with the coast guard has boarded the ship, and they’re working on how to get the ship towed off without polluting the water or causing harm to the crew.

So Far, there’s No Estimate on When The Ship Will Be Freed

Because of all the logistical factors, the coast guard doesn’t have an estimate on when they’ll make an attempt to free the ship. Thankfully, nobody was injured when the ship ran aground and no pollution has been detected.

The Ever Forward is likely owned by Evergreen Marine Corp based in Thailand. This is also the company, of course, that owns the Ever Given, which went quite viral last year.

As of now, the unfortunately named Ever Forward is quite stuck. Hopefully, the Coast Guard will be able to find a way to get it off the sand bar without anyone getting hurt or the water getting polluted.