The 130-ton Ever Forward cargo ship that has been mired in the mud of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland for more than a month was dislodged and refloated early Sunday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
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The 1,095-foot cargo ship, which ran aground in shallow water 36 days ago, was yanked from a mound of mud by two pulling barges and six tugboats working in tandem around 7 a.m., the Coast Guard said.
The vastness and complexity of this response were historic, as an incident like the Ever Forward grounding, in type and duration, is a rare occurrence,” Capt. David O’Connell, commander of Coast Guard Sector Maryland-National Capital Region, said in a statement.
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“It was the collaboration of each responding agency, Evergreen Marine Corporation, and dedicated responders that resulted in the successful refloating of Ever Forward while ensuring the safety of the public and response personnel, mitigating pollution potential, and minimizing economic impacts.”
The ship was extricated after crews spent the last week using two large cranes on barges to offload around 500 of the nearly 4,900 containers aboard to make the vessel buoyant enough for the tugboats to pry it loose, officials said.
The Ever Forward, which is owned by Evergreen Marine Corp., was being towed by five tugboats to a ship parking area near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
The Hong Kong-flagged ship will eventually head back to the Seagirt marine terminal in Baltimore to pick up the containers that were taken off before resuming its voyage to Norfolk, Virginia, officials said.
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