News / Now Evergreen box ship Ever Forward runs aground – but isn't blocking traffic

A US Coast Guard officer looks on as the operation to free Ever Forward continues Credit US Coast Guard.

Another ship operated by Taiwan liner Evergreen has run aground, almost exactly a year after the Ever Given became jammed and held up traffic in the Suez Canal.

The 12,118 teu Ever Forward, deployed on Evergreen’s East Asia-US east coast service, was departing Baltimore port for Norfolk at 8.40pm on Sunday when it grounded in shallow water.

VesselsValue reports that the ship has a draught of 15.5 metres, but the water at that point in in Chesapeake Bay is just 7.6 metres deep.

At the time The Loadstar went to press, the US Coast Guard was still working to free the 2020-built ship, which, according to Evergreen, has not shown any signs of oil leakage. None of the ship’s crew is injured and its loaded containers remain intact.

An Evergreen spokesperson said: “Evergreen is arranging for divers to conduct underwater inspections to confirm any damage to the vessel and is coordinating with all concerned parties to refloat the ship as soon as possible.”

Unlike the 20,124 teu Ever Given, which blocked vessel traffic in the Suez Canal from 23 to 29 March last year, Evergreen said the Ever Forward was not disrupting ship movements in the bay, and Bloomberg, quoting William P Doyle, executive director of Maryland Port Association, said ships were still able to proceed to Baltimore port.

They have, however, been advised to slow down and use a one-way sailing pattern.

Meanwhile, Evergreen announced today that its 2021 net profit rose nine-fold to $9.5bn, as the liner industry recorded a second straight year of record earnings amid unprecedented logistical bottlenecks.