Stranded Chesapeake Bay cargo ship successfully refloated

Tugboats pull Chesapeake Bay cargo ship after it was successfully refloated

Tugboats pull a cargo ship that was freed Sunday, after being stuck in the Chesapeake Bay for more than a month.

BALTIMORE - The Ever Forward cargo ship, which has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay for more than a month, is finally moving again, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials.

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The U.S. Coast Guard announced Sunday morning that the operation to refloat the ship was successful, and that the ship is moving down the Craighill Channel.

Video shows several tugboats pulling the large ship along the channel. More details about where the ship is headed were not made immediately available.

Stranded Chesapeake Bay cargo ship freed

The U.S. Coast Guard says that the Ever Forward cargo ship, which has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay for more than a month, has been freed. (Credit: David Sites)

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Cargo ship runs aground in Chesapeake Bay; efforts underway to refloat

The U.S. Coast Guard launched an operation last weekend to remove cargo containers from the ship to lighten it. The plan was devised after several other attempts to free the ship came up unsuccessful.

Initial efforts centered around dredging, clearing away the mud from around the hull, and then using tow boats to pull the ship out, but after two attempts failed, that plan was halted on April 5.

Owned by Taiwan-based shipping company Evergreen Marine Corp, the vessel departed Baltimore at 10:33 p.m on March 13. The ship became lodged just off the shores of Pasadena, after steering out of the Craighill Channel, according to Maryland officials.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Cargo ship stuck in Chesapeake Bay: New Coast Guard operation underway to free ship

Ever Forward has been a nearly one-month headache for the U.S. Coast Guard, the Port of Baltimore and the Department of the Environment. At almost 1,096 feet long and nearly 158 feet wide, it is, Maryland officials said, the largest boat ever stuck in the Chesapeake Bay.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - APRIL 05: In an aerial view, the Ever Forward container ship is shown in the Chesapeake Bay after running aground near Baltimore on April 5, 2022 in Pasadena, Maryland. Salvage crews will attempt to remove the containers from th

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The Coast Guard says officials have not yet determined what caused the Ever Forward to run aground.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.