Evergreen to pay further fines over Chesapeake Bay grounding

Evergreen, the Taiwanese owner of the 11,850 teu Ever Forward, has been told to pay Maryland more than $676,000 to enhance state oyster bars as a penalty for the boxship running aground in Chesapeake Bay last March.

The Ever Forward ran aground 24 feet deep into the mud on March 13.

The Ever Forward was refloated on April 17 after being stuck in the mud in Chesapeake Bay for more than a month. A high tide, along with a month’s worth of work – dredging around the ship and removing 505 containers – finally brought success to the effort.

Last month, the operating license of the Ever Forward pilot who was steering the containership when it grounded was suspended, according to the Maryland Department of Labor, citing his excessive use of his mobile phone at the time.