Salvors have put together a plan to refloat the containership aground outside Baltimore Port, Ever Forward, according to an update from Evergreen.
Evergreen has appointed salvor Donjon Smit to the vessel, and after multiple underwater inspections a plan is ready to be implemented after approval from the competent authority.
“In terms of planning for rescue operations, dredgers will be used to excavate around the stranded vessel to remove part of the mud, increase the buoyancy of the hull, and increase the space (clearance) between the propeller, rudder and the seabed to ensure the safety of the ship,” said Evergreen.
All available local tugboats will be recruited to the refloating, which will involve mud excavation followed by ballast water discharge and then power from tugs and the ship itself.
Evergreen said it would use the most beneficial high tide period, but did not specify which period.
The 12,000 teu, 2020-built Ever Forward grounded March 13 in the Chesapeake Bay near Craighill Channel after sailing from the Port of Baltimore bound for Norfolk, Virginia. The event comes almost a year after the infamous grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal; forunately for Evergreen, Ever Forward is not blocking the navigation channel.
Source: Seatrade Maritime News
