"It's buried about 15 feet or so into the mud. "And where it is stuck is 24 feet of water," he said. Dave O'Connell told NPR this week that the ship needs a depth of 42 feet of water in order to operate.
EVER FORWARD SHIP FULL
Work is also underway to dredge to a depth of 43 feet, according to the Coast Guard - essentially digging around the boat so it can be floated.Īs we mentioned, the ship is full of cargo - and weighs roughly 130,000 tons.Ĭoast Guard Capt. The Port of Baltimore's executive director, William Doyle, says a second attempt will be made in coming days "using two anchored pulling barges from the stern and five tugs." You can watch a long, unmomentous video of this effort below. One try, on Tuesday, involved five tugboats: two pushing on the starboard side, two pulling from the port side, and one pulling from the stern. That's right: A 1,095-foot ship called Ever Forward has been lodged there for nearly three weeks.Įfforts to free the ship so far have been unsuccessful. The container ship apparently missed a turn leaving Baltimore, causing it to end up in the shallows off Pasadena, Md., where it remains. The Ever Forward had just loaded up with cargo in Baltimore and was heading south to Norfolk, Va., when it ran aground on March 13.
Maybe it's their massive size, and the often fruitless plight to make them budge. There's something gleeful about a big ship getting stuck.