Cargo ship run aground in Chesapeake Bay is owned by the SAME company that clogged up global trade last year when the Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal

• A 1,096-foot ship called the ‘Ever Forward’ ran aground in Chesapeake Bay after departing Baltimore on Sunday night 
• The vessel was refloated and en route to Norfolk Tuesday afternoon  
• Ever Forward is owned by the same company as Ever Given, which obstructed the Suez Canal nearly a year ago on March 23 
• The blockage slowed global trade for days as authorities tried to dislodge the giant vessel
• Suez Canal is one of the world’s busiest waterways and the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia

Nearly one year after a cargo ship called the ‘Ever Given’ clogged global trade by getting stuck in the Suez Canal, another ship owned by the same company has run aground — this time in Chesapeake Bay.

Ever Forward, which is also owned by Evergreen Marine Corp, left the Port of Baltimore on Sunday and was headed for Norfolk, Virginia, when it became stuck, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. 

Ever Forward remained in a nearby navigational channel where it was not obstructing traffic – though nearby ships were reportedly reducing their speed and taking other precautions.   

There were no reports of injuries, pollution or damage to the 1,096-foot ship, the U.S. Coast Guard said. It is not known what caused the ship to run ground. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, the vessel had been refloated and is en route to Norfolk, according to the Vessel Finder website.

The 1,096-foot vessel is part of a fleet of cargo ships owned by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp, which also owns the 1,312-foot long Ever Given, the ship that became stuck in the Suez Canal in March 2021 and caused problems for global shipping. 

The container ship Ever Forward (above) ran aground on Sunday in the Chesapeake Bay, off the coast near Pasadena, Maryland – nearly one year after the ‘Ever Given’ cargo ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, clogging global trade

Ever Forward remained in a nearby navigational channel where it was not obstructing traffic

There were no reports of injuries, pollution or damage to the 1,096-foot ship

A U.S. Coast Guard officer monitors the Ever Forward container ship, which ran aground Sunday

As of Tuesday afternoon, the vessel had been refloated and is en route to Norfolk, according to the Vessel Finder website

The news comes nearly one year after the Ever Given became stuck in the Suez Canal on March 23, sparking a massive 6-day rescue operation that ended in one person’s death, a sunk rescue boat and 48 ships that were forced to find an alternative route.  

Hundreds of ships were delayed as they waited for the canal to be unblocked and some vessels were forced to take the much longer route around the southern tip of Africa. 

The Panama-flagged vessel was heading for Rotterdam when it ploughed into the sandy bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal about 3.7 miles north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez on March 23. 

The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged vessel (pictured in Rotterdam), was heading for Rotterdam when it ploughed into the sandy bank of a single-lane stretch of the Suez Canal about 3.7 miles north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez on March 23, 2021

The Panama-flagged vessel was heading for Rotterdam when it ploughed into the sandy bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal near the city of Suez on March 23, 2021

The Taiwanese-operated vessel got diagonally stuck in the narrow but crucial global trade artery in a sandstorm on March 23, setting in motion a mammoth six-day-long effort by Egyptian personnel and international salvage specialists to dislodge it

After leaving the canal in August after being impounded for three months while its owners organized a compensation deal with Egypt, the ship headed for China.

The 1,312-foot ship, which carries cargo between Asia and Europe, was held in Ismalia for more than three months amid a financial dispute over compensation. 

Owner Shoei Kisen and the ship’s insurers had disputed the claim and the ship’s detention under an Egyptian court order.

The two sides have traded blame for the vessel’s grounding, with bad weather, poor decisions on the part of canal authorities, as well as human and technical error all being thrown out as possible factors.

The container ship Ever Given arrives at the ECT (Europe Container Terminals) Delta terminal in the port of Rotterdam

The six-day blockage disrupted global shipping. Hundreds of ships waited in place for the canal to be unblocked, while some ships were forced to take the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa’s southern tip, requiring additional fuel and other costs.

Egypt, which earns more than $5 billion a year from the canal, lost between $12 million and $15 million in revenues each day it was closed, the SCA said.

In April, maritime data company Lloyd’s List said the blockage by the vessel, which is longer than four football fields, held up some $9.6 billion worth of cargo each day it was stuck. 

After an agreement was met between the ship’s Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, and canal authorities it was freed to continue its voyage in July.

Another vessel ran aground in the Suez Canal in September temporarily blocking the global shipping line nearly six months after it was blocked for six days by the Ever Given (pictured)

Six months later, another cargo vessel ran aground in the Suez Canal in September, briefly blocking the global shipping lane before it was refloated.

The Panama-flagged Coral Crystal ran aground in a double-lane stretch 33 miles into the canal, forcing the officials to redirect other vessels in the convoy to the other lane.

The canal’s tugboats managed to float the south-bound vessel, which carries cargo weighing 43,000 tons and the Coral Crystal then resumed its voyage to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

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