One day after the "Ever Forward" round escaped, in response to the stranding incident, Maryland, USA, asked Ever Forward to set up a $100 million responsibility fund to pay the related fees.
In a letter to Evergreen Shipping Agency (America) Corporation, Evergreen Shipping subsidiary, Peter Franchot, auditor general of Maryland, said: "While we do not know the full environmental impact of the accident so far, a ship weighing 131,420 tons is trapped in our waters with tons of cargo and fuel, which has undoubtedly destroyed the fragile ecosystem of the Gulf."
Therefore, Franchot asked the company to set up a $100 million fund to cover environmentally-related and economic costs, especially the seafood industry. "The damage that this incident has caused, and the damage that may continue to cause, will require financial resources to compensate," he noted. "While this may be a necessary action, the potential consequences include the destruction of oyster farms and the spawning seasons of several species. Our seafood industry is already struggling economically due to labor shortages, but the seafood industry will usher in a harvest season in the coming months." Franchot believes that if workers in the seafood industry receive impact, funds from the EVF Seafreight Fund may provide compensation and pay for labor costs for federal, state and local agencies involved in the rescue of ships.
Previously, the Evergreen Marine Super Large Container Shipping "Long-range" ship ran aground near Chesapeake Bay on the evening of March 13, when the ship was carrying nearly 5,000 containers. After the accident, the rescue team tried to remove the skin several times, but all ended in failure. After exhausting all rescue programs, on April 9, the rescue team began removing the containers on board to reduce the weight of the ship while dredging the bottom silt.
April 14, after a full 35 days of stranding, the "long-range" ship finally floated again at the high tide with the help of two barges, and 5 tugboats. About 500 containers on the ship were unloaded to get out of trouble. The ship was not significantly damaged during the stranding period. After completing the corresponding inspection, it had already taken to the next port, Norfolk , to load and unload the cargo according to the original schedule.
Evergreen Marine said that it would thank the rescue team, US Coast Guard , Maryland government and all walks of life for their assistance and concern. After more than a month of hard work, it finally overcomes all difficulties and successfully gets out of trouble. It will conduct underwater inspections at a nearby anchorage. After confirming that it is safe, it will first return to the Port of Baltimore to load the previously unloaded containers, and then go to the next port (Norfolk) to load and unload the goods according to the original schedule.
Although Evergreen Shipping emphasized that there was no oil leakage in the long-term ship and there was no risk of pollution, the accident still caused concerns among environmentalists. "These shallow sandbanks and oyster breeding sites are very important habitats for organisms including clam and worms, but now the dredging necessary to rescue the 'long-range' ship will turn a large amount of shallower water into deeper water."
It is understood that the 'long-range' ship has just been put into operation in 2020. This is the fourth of the eight 12,100TEU container ships ordered by Evergreen Shipping at South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industry. The ship is 334 meters long and 48 meters wide. It can carry 11,850 20-foot containers and has a total tonnage of 110,000 tons. The ship is affiliated to Evergreen Hong Kong Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Evergreen Marine Transportation, and is currently on the Far East-US East Coast route.
Previously, Evergreen Shipping had announced joint average losses on March 31 and appointed joint average adjuster Richards Hogg Lindley to deal with matters related to joint average losses. The cargo owners of the cargo on board and the joint venture partners using the cabin must provide necessary guarantees and documents as soon as possible in accordance with the common average loss calculation rules, so that the ship can successfully handle the pickup of goods and other related matters after the ship is out of trouble and the goods arrive at the port.
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