Just as people started to forget about the chaos caused by the Ever Given ship last year, Evergreen Marine Corp has found itself in yet another sticky situation as another of its vessels has now become lodged.
The jokes and memes about the Ever Given container ship being stuck in the Suez Canal were undoubtedly some of the best things to come out of 2021, though owners Evergreen Marine Corp no doubt hoped the world would move on with the new year.
That largely seemed to be the case until recently, when it became clear that rather than moving on entirely, the internet would simply turn its attention to the ironically-named Ever Forward.
The container ship, described as Ever Given's 'cousin', ran aground in Chesapeake Bay on Sunday, March 13, as it travelled from the Port of Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia. The US Coast Guard has not determined what caused the ship to become stranded, but whatever the reason it didn't take long for social media users to start joking about the situation.
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One Twitter user wrote, 'Now 'Ever Forward' gets stuck at Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. What's with this company of stucko-ships,' while another joked: 'Oh, they released a BOAT STUCK sequel?! It's a yearly franchise now? Just hope they don't run it into the ground. The fact that the stuck boat that's not going anywhere is called the "ever forward" is top tier writing tho.'
The Coast Guard and Maryland Department of the Environment are now working together to try and re-float the 1,095-foot container ship, CBS Baltimore reports, though the Cost Guard assured there was no injuries, pollution or damage caused by the issue.
Maryland-National Capital Region Sector Commander, Capt. David O’Connell, explained the Craighill Channel, where the ship ran aground, is estimated to be about 50 feet deep, but that the vessel became stuck in water approximately 25-feet deep.
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Officials investigating the situation are still in the process of conducting interviews and collecting evidence, as well as working to ensure the ship is removed and towed to a safe location.
'Right now, we’re working with the salvor,' O'Connell said. 'We’ve asked them to submit a salvage plan to us so that’s something that we will review with them.'
Thankfully the ship is not obstructing the channel entirely, unlike the chaos caused last year when Ever Given ship became stuck for days on end, causing huge queues in the canal.
Vessels operating in the area around the Ever Forward have been asked to operate in a one-way system at reduced speed.
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Emily Brown