Plans are still being devised for how to refloat a huge container ship that ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay on Sunday night.
No one was injured, and as of Thursday afternoon, there were no indications of any pollution, according to Maryland’s Department of the Environment.
“Right now, our focus is safely refloating the ship and getting it going,” said U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist Petty Officer 3rd Class Kimberly Reaves. “It’s stuck aground outside of the navigational channel.”
At 1,095 feet long, the Hong Kong-flagged Ever Forward is longer than the Eiffel Tower is high. It’s carrying 4,964 containers of general dry goods. The Coast Guard is investigating how and why it ran aground while on its way to Norfolk, Virginia, from Baltimore.
It’s stuck roughly equidistant between the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Baltimore’s I-695 Key Bridge.
“We’re enforcing a 500-yard safety zone around the ship to provide safety for the people and the marine environment from potential safety hazards associated with the damage,” Reaves said.
The Executive Director of the Port of Baltimore tweeted that figuring out how best to free the ship involves a salvage team, and U.S. Navy architects and divers.
The Ever Forward is not blocking boat traffic, but about a year ago, the container ship Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week.
