Credit: Matthew Abbott from Baltimore Shipspotting
Evergreen, a Taiwan vessel operator, has denied its box ship requestEver ForwardIt caused environmental damage when it was grounded in Chesapeake Bay. Later, it was refloated.
Maryland state comptroller Peter Franchot asked the carrier to launch what he called a $100m “responsibility fund” to cover environmental and economic costs following the grounding of the 12,000 teu ship on 13 March.
However, today, Evergreen insisted that the ship had suffered no structural damage, all its onboard equipment was functioning normally and,as such, the comptroller’s immediate concern has been avoided.
The company stated that environmental concerns were a fundamental tenet in its corporate mission and that they are taken seriously.
It said: We are happy that all dredged materials excavated from the Always Forward site is being beneficially used for rebuilding and restoring Poplar Island, home to hundreds of species of wildlife and waterfowl, as approved by Maryland’s Department of the Environment.
Evergreen stated that the accident investigation revealed a more definitive view of accountability and suggested measures to prevent similar incidents in future and improve maritime and environmental safety.