According to the U.S. Coast Guard the Ever Forward container ship has been grounded in Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore. This is nearly one year after another vessel owned by the same company had blocked the Suez Canal for six consecutive days.
Evergreen Marine Corp Taiwan Ltd 2603.TW is the operator of the container ship. This Taiwanese transport company also operates the Ever Given. The Ever Given ran aground in March and blocked traffic in the Suez Canal. This canal is one of the busiest waterways in the world and also the shortest route between Europe, Asia and Europe.
According to Petty Officer 3rd class Breanna Centeno, the Coast Guard received information on Sunday that Ever Forward was downed. They are now performing checks every four hours in order to ensure safety of all marine life and crew members.
According to the Coast Guard, the vessel is not blocking traffic from other container ships and is therefore safe to be left alone.
Evergreen Marine stated in an email that the incident did not cause a fuel leakage and did not disrupt traffic entering the port.
It stated that Evergreen was coordinating with all parties involved to refloat and inspect the vessel underwater.
“The competent authority is investigating the cause of the incident.”