BALTIMORE (AP) – Dredging has begun freeing a cargo ship that has been stranded in the Chesapeake Bay for more than a week, the US Coast Guard said on Monday.
A salvage company began dredging around the 1,095-foot (334-meter) Ever Forward on Sunday, and work is expected to continue throughout the week, said Breanna Centeno, 3rd Class Coast Guard Officer in an email. The vessel landed stably, did not pollute, and did not affect the Port of Baltimore’s operations, Centano said.
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State and federal agencies have issued all permits, Maryland Port Authority Executive Director William P. Doyle tweeted. Doyle said dredged material will be used to help rebuild Poplar Island, an island off the East Coast that has been severely eroded.
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The US Coast Guard said the Ever Forward was sailing from the Port of Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia on March 13 when it ran aground north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The ship operated by Evergreen Marine Corp. Taiwan-based operator ran aground outside the channel and officials said there were no reports of injury, damage or contamination.
Evergreen said Friday that its plan to rebuild the Ever Forward includes dredging the bay’s mud layer, discharging ballast to reduce loads, and using a tugboat and the ship’s main engine to free the vessel.
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The Coast Guard said officials have yet to determine what caused the Ever Forward to run aground. The vessel did not block passage in the canal, unlike last year’s grounding in the Suez Canal by its sister ship, Ever Given, which disrupted global supply chains for days.
https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2022/03/21/dredging-seeks-to-free-grounded-cargo-ship-in-chesapeake-bay/ Dredging searches for free terrestrial cargo ships in Chesapeake Bay – CBS Baltimore
