A massive container ship has run aground in the Chesapeake Bay : NPR

2022-06-16 19:24:31 By : Mr. Mark li

The Coast Guard remains at work trying to refloat a massive container ship, the Ever Forward, that's been stuck in the mud of the Chesapeake Bay for more than two weeks.

Now an update on that container ship that ran aground coming out of the Port of Baltimore - the Ever Forward.

Now, if you're thinking, wait, isn't that the one that got stuck in the Suez Canal a year ago? - then let's rewind for a second. That was a sister ship, the Ever Given.

MARTIN: The Ever Forward was leaving Baltimore on March 13, and it apparently missed a turn, then suddenly wasn't in the deep shipping channel anymore.

DAVE O'CONNELL: We responded to make sure where she was, that she was outside the channel.

MARTIN: That's Coast Guard Captain Dave O'Connell.

O'CONNELL: There was no injuries, there was no pollution, and there was limited effect on commerce in terms of vessels being able to get around her.

MARTINEZ: Still, you do have this 1,100-foot ship loaded with shipping containers.

O'CONNELL: It's - in terms of weight, it's about roughly 130,000 tons.

MARTINEZ: And O'Connell says that ship needs a depth of 42 feet of water in order to operate.

O'CONNELL: And where it is stuck is 24 feet of water.

MARTIN: So way too shallow. And to make matters worse...

O'CONNELL: It's buried about 15 feet or so into the mud. So that's a lot.

MARTIN: For the past week or so, crews have been dredging - basically digging around the ship to try and free it up.

MARTINEZ: They'll siphon off fuel and also some of the water that's carried as ballast. The trick will be to keep the ship upright and balanced.

O'CONNELL: Containers are stacked five, six stories high. You know, you slide containers off of it - that would be a bad situation.

MARTINEZ: Hats off to Captain Dave O'Connell and all the pros working very carefully to get the Ever Forward moving forward again.

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