Ever Forward, a 1,095-foot container ship, is now moving again after it ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay’s Craighill Channel on March 13. The costs of dislodging it and its environmental effects on the Bay, as well as the cost of disposal, remain unknown.
Evergreen Marine Corporation began to attempt to refloat the ship at the end March. Authorities dug around the vessel and removed debris to a depth 43 feet. Polar Island was given the material that had been dredged. After two days of unsuccessful attempts to free the large ship, authorities decided to reduce its weight by removing some 4,964 containers.
Over the past two weeks, a team comprising the U.S. Coast Guard and the Maryland Department of the Environment and Evergreen Marine Corporation took 500 containers with two crane barsges during daylight hours and directed the containers to Seagirt Marine terminal in Baltimore.
Two pulling barges and two tugs, two from Donjon SMIT, two from Moran, and two from McAllister, freed the Ever Forward ship on Easter Sunday morning 35 days after it had run aground.
Doug Myers, a Chesapeake Bay Foundation scientist, said that before dredging, Bay water was only about 20 feet deep and had enough oxygen at its bottom to support marine life, such as clams. He continued that the Bay’s mud bottoms also contained buried oystershells, which have a high habitat value. But, dredging increased its depth.
When a vessel looks like [Ever Forward]Myers stated that it is basically plowing into all of this and likely killing all the organisms that are there. Below 20 feet, there is less dissolved oxygen to sustain marine life.
Myers stated, “I think this was an alarming sign in regards to the possibility of a fuel/oil spillage.” He stated that he hopes there are changes in state policy so Maryland can be as prepared as is possible for another ship to run aground on the Bay.
According to Jay Apperson (MDE spokesperson), the U.S Coast Guard, the Maryland Department of the Environment and the shipping company took steps in order to minimize any environmental harm. They regularly monitored the fuel tanks on the ship and prepared a containment boom, which is a temporary floating barrier that contains an oil spillage to aid recovery.
The agency issued an emergency license for dredging Donjon-SMIT to a salvage team that was involved in Ever Forward’s dislodging. Apperson stated that the wetlands license requires Donjon-SMIT’s assessment of the dredging impact on a natural oyster bar and to submit a report to MDE Tidal Wetlands Division.
Myers states that permits to drag in non-emergency circumstances usually require a year’s environmental review and an environment impact statement.
Apperson was asked how much the state agency spent on its response efforts. Apperson replied that cost estimates were not available at the moment. Michael Ricci (spokesman for Gov.) was also asked the question. Lawrence. J Hogan (R), deferred MDE.
The potential danger posed by this large ship, which was fuelled and other materials onboard, and grounded on an oyster-bar, Maryland has had one of its most significant responses in agency history. This resulted in Maryland successfully protecting its environmental interests. Apperson said in an email that this continues into the restoration/compensation phase.
Peter V.R., the state’s comptroller, made a request last week. Franchot, a Democratic candidate to governor, called upon Benjamin Tsai (the president of Evergreen Shipping Agency Corporation) to establish a $100 million responsibility account for reimbursement for labor hours, resources, and compensation for watermen, and the seafood industry, for the impact on their harvest season.
The establishment of this fund will send the message that Evergreen is a trustworthy actor, understands the environmental and economic harm this incident has caused to Maryland, and truly lives up its commitment to environmental protection. Franchot wrote in a letter addressed to Tsai.
Franchot also expressed concern that the dredging that was required to dislodge and remove the ship could have caused oyster beds to be damaged and disrupted the spawning period for species that are harvested by the seafood industry. Franchot also wrote about the possibility of an oil leak, which would be a disaster for the country, the region and the state.
According to Susan OBrien, spokeswoman for Franchots, they have not yet received a response.
Ever Given owned another ship that got stuck in Suez Canal a year ago. It caused disruption to the supply chain and received a lot of attention. It took Six days with more then a dozen tugboats. High tide to dislodge boat.
Evergreen Marine Corporation was not immediately available to comment.