News / Bid to refloat Ever Forward leaves box ship still stuck in Chesapeake mud

First attempt to free Ever Forward fails. Credit Matthew Abbott Baltimore Shipspotting

The first attempt to free the grounded Evergreen vessel, Ever Forward, ended in failure after five hours yesterday, despite five tugs pulling and pushing.

A second attempt to free the vessel by salvor Donjon Smit is expected to be made at high tide on Sunday and Monday with the tugs added to by two anchored pulling barges.

Sources close to the salvage team have said that if the second attempt failed, cargo would be unloaded to lighten the vessel and add to its buoyancy.

Ever Forward ran aground on 13 March while departing the port of Baltimore. The ship is in shallow water, around 7 metres deep, and the muddy seabed is hampering the salvage of the ship. Dredging the mud from around and underneath the vessel was done in a bid to help.

A video of the first attempt to refloat the ship, taken by local Baltimore Shipspotting blogger Matthew Abbott is available below.

See the video here.