Ever Forward ran aground after the ship departed Baltimore on 13 March. Evergreen Line has been making every effort to refloat the stranded ship on behalf of the common interests of cargo owners and the safety of all involved. 

In light of the increasing costs arising from the continued attempts to refloat the vessel, Evergreen declared General Average today. Ever Forward, a 12,000 TEU container ship owned by Evergreen Marine (Hong Kong) Ltd., a subsidiary of Evergreen Marine Corporation, ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay after leaving Baltimore on the evening of March 13.

There were no reports of injuries or damage to the ship or its cargo and no indication of fuel leakage or pollution. The grounding occurred outside the shipping channel and the vessel has not been blocking navigation since. The cause of the incident is under investigation by the competent authorities.

After the incident happened, Evergreen immediately activated its emergency response plan and appointed the salvor Donjon-Smit to conduct underwater inspections and design refloating plan. The program included dredging around the stranded vessel to increase buoyancy and deploying tugboats for the rescue operation. With the approval by the competent authorities, dredging operation began on March 20. Subsequent to the completion of the initial dredging
phase, the rescue team made two attempts to refloat Ever Forward on March 29 and 30. Unfortunately, both attempts proved to be unsuccessful. 

The dredging operation and refloating attempts have been conducted for the common safety of the vessel and cargo, and in the interests of all parties involved in the voyage. Considering that the complexity of further rescue operations will require more manpower, equipment and costs to refloat the stranded vessel as soon as possible, Evergreen has for cautionary purposes declared General Average and nominated Richards Hogg Lindley as the GA adjuster. 

Evergreen Line urges all cargo interests involved, and joint venture slot users to provide security bonds and necessary documents according to the adjusting rules that govern GA in order to take delivery of cargo after the vessel is freed and arrives at its future ports of discharge.

Source: Evergreen Marine