Ever Forward aground in Chesapeake

[MarkW6]

Saw an article this morning which says Coast Guard now saying once containers are removed, owner of the cargo inside the containers will be required to pay a portion of the salvage cost if they want to reclaim their cargo. What a nightmare for the cargo owners. And each day the containers sit in port storage fees will accrue. Have to think this will be another big hit to Evergreen. Not sure how container ships operate but years ago I was told that with oil tankers, each voyage is set up under it's own, separate company. When the voyage is over, so is the special purpose company. Assume for liability. Wonder if Evergreen's container voyages are similar. Cargo owners could be years in court trying to resolve, and each day the storage fees accrue.

[dutchpp]

According to Dutch sources she's afloat again.

[Bob Adams]

She's out and has been moved to deeper water off Annapolis supposedly for a hull inspection. I believe they removed 505 containers.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Saw an article this morning which says Coast Guard now saying once containers are removed, owner of the cargo inside the containers will be required to pay a portion of the salvage cost if they want to reclaim their cargo. What a nightmare for the cargo owners. And each day the containers sit in port storage fees will accrue. Have to think this will be another big hit to Evergreen. Not sure how container ships operate but years ago I was told that with oil tankers, each voyage is set up under it's own, separate company. When the voyage is over, so is the special purpose company. Assume for liability. Wonder if Evergreen's container voyages are similar. Cargo owners could be years in court trying to resolve, and each day the storage fees accrue.

It’s hard to know where to start.

I’m happy to say that whoever wrote the utter garbage that you read ought to be fired for idleness.

I run large container ships for a living, my employers are in an alliance with Evergreen, whom we find to be first rate people, they have a first class reputation. And thirty years ago I was running oil tankers.

As a hobby, I write a column for the shipping industry’s leading daily.

Either the Coast Guard source didn’t know their stuff (it’s a big organisation!) or the person they were talking to did not understand what they were being told. I think the latter is more likely.

1. One of the oldest laws in the world, going back to the Greeks and the Phoenicians, is the law of General Average, which treats a cargo voyage as a “common adventure”, sharing the same perils on the voyage, and contributing to the cost of overcoming those perils in proportion to the values at risk. A salvage operation is a General Average Act involving General Average Sacrifice and General Average Expenditures.

This means that all the cargo that was on board the ship when she went aground will be contributing to the costs of the refloating operation. These General Average contributions will be collected in the form of GA Deposits, GA Bonds, and GA Guarantees, and these are collected in exchange for the release of the cargo on arrival at the port of destination.

2. The contents of the containers taken off the ship to lighten her will have been included in a Non-Separation Agreement,
so they will be treated like the rest of the cargo.

3. Assuming that the cargo is insured, which is 99% certain to be the case, all the foregoing arrangements will be made between the cargo insurers and the Average Adjusters appointed by the shipowner.

[Woxbox]

From GCaptain:

Just before 7 am on Easter Sunday, two anchor barges and five large tugboats pulled the ship astern and sideways until she was dislodged. The salvage crews recieved help from a full moon and a spring tide to release the ship that had been stuck for more than a month.
Having exhausted all salvage options, authorities took a costly last resort on April 9 and began removing containers from the ship. Salvage professionals rappelled up and down towering stacks of containers for 12 hours a day for the last week uncoupling containers from the ship and hooking them to cranes. This operation removed weight from the ship allowing it to lift free during the spring tide.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

https://splash247.com/ever-forward-r...ng-to-service/

[UCanoe_2]

20220416_171043.jpg


Some photos do not make the news. Commemorative graffiti in porta john at Downs Park, Pasadena, MD, popular Ever Forward observation site, 4/16/22.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

And the Oscar for chutzpah goes to…

… the State of Maryland!

https://splash247.com/maryland-seeks...ard-grounding/

And people wonder why the USA is an international joke in the world of merchant shipping.

[Breakaway]

Evergreen Marine can swing $100 million. Easy.
According to Wikipedia, Evergreen Marine Revenue:

$4.266 billion (2018)^[4]

£3.038 billion (2018)^[4]

[Woxbox]

And the Oscar for chutzpah goes to…

… the State of Maryland!

https://splash247.com/maryland-seeks...ard-grounding/

That's pretty amusing. The dredging never stops in the Chesapeake. It's a constant battle to keep the channels from filling up with the soft mud that constitutes the bottom of pretty much the entire bay. So how is the state going to show that this dredging is different of a kind than all the bottom digging done under government contract? There are islands in the bay made up of nothing more than dredged material, and spoil areas scattered elsewhere.

[dutchpp]

Perhaps Evergreen Marine can claim $100 million damage from the state of Maryland due to inaccurate dredging of the channels. That's just a fraction of the yearly budget of the state so they will be able to pay it

[Breakaway]

Perhaps Evergreen Marine can claim $100 million damage from the state of Maryland due to inaccurate dredging of the channels. That's just a fraction of the yearly budget of the state so they will be able to pay it

Thousands of other ships did not run aground.


Kevin


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Thousands of other ships did not run aground.


Kevin


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Kevin, I know this is picky of me, but can you perhaps

a) wait until the NTSB and the USCG have established the cause of the grounding,
and,
b) show how the grounding caused a hundred million dollars in losses to the state of Maryland?

[Breakaway]

Kevin, I know this is picky of me, but can you perhaps

a) wait until the NTSB and the USCG have established the cause of the grounding,
and,
b) show how the grounding caused a hundred million dollars in losses to the state of Maryland?

Yessir. I agree that would be best.

Kevin

[MarkW6]

It’s hard to know where to start.

I’m happy to say that whoever wrote the utter garbage that you read ought to be fired for idleness.

I run large container ships for a living, my employers are in an alliance with Evergreen, whom we find to be first rate people, they have a first class reputation. And thirty years ago I was running oil tankers.

As a hobby, I write a column for the shipping industry’s leading daily.

Either the Coast Guard source didn’t know their stuff (it’s a big organisation!) or the person they were talking to did not understand what they were being told. I think the latter is more likely.

1. One of the oldest laws in the world, going back to the Greeks and the Phoenicians, is the law of General Average, which treats a cargo voyage as a “common adventure”, sharing the same perils on the voyage, and contributing to the cost of overcoming those perils in proportion to the values at risk. A salvage operation is a General Average Act involving General Average Sacrifice and General Average Expenditures.

This means that all the cargo that was on board the ship when she went aground will be contributing to the costs of the refloating operation. These General Average contributions will be collected in the form of GA Deposits, GA Bonds, and GA Guarantees, and these are collected in exchange for the release of the cargo on arrival at the port of destination.

2. The contents of the containers taken off the ship to lighten her will have been included in a Non-Separation Agreement,
so they will be treated like the rest of the cargo.

3. Assuming that the cargo is insured, which is 99% certain to be the case, all the foregoing arrangements will be made between the cargo insurers and the Average Adjusters appointed by the shipowner.

So am I reading your post right that either the cargo owners or insurers will have to pay a portion of the salvage? If so, what part of the article I referenced got it so wrong?

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

So am I reading your post right that either the cargo owners or insurers will have to pay a portion of the salvage? If so, what part of the article I referenced got it so wrong?

You wrote:

Saw an article this morning which says Coast Guard now saying once containers are removed, owner of the cargo inside the containers will be required to pay a portion of the salvage cost if they want to reclaim their cargo. What a nightmare for the cargo owners. And each day the containers sit in port storage fees will accrue. Have to think this will be another big hit to Evergreen. Not sure how container ships operate but years ago I was told that with oil tankers, each voyage is set up under it's own, separate company. When the voyage is over, so is the special purpose company. Assume for liability. Wonder if Evergreen's container voyages are similar. Cargo owners could be years in court trying to resolve, and each day the storage fees accrue.​

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

So am I reading your post right that either the cargo owners or insurers will have to pay a portion of the salvage? If so, what part of the article I referenced got it so wrong?

You wrote:

”Saw an article this morning which says Coast Guard now saying once containers are removed, owner of the cargo inside the containers will be required to pay a portion of the salvage cost if they want to reclaim their cargo. What a nightmare for the cargo owners. And each day the containers sit in port storage fees will accrue. Have to think this will be another big hit to Evergreen. Not sure how container ships operate but years ago I was told that with oil tankers, each voyage is set up under it's own, separate company. When the voyage is over, so is the special purpose company. Assume for liability. Wonder if Evergreen's container voyages are similar. Cargo owners could be years in court trying to resolve, and each day the storage fees accrue.”

You didn’t link an article so I cannot comment further.

[dutchpp]

Thousands of other ships did not run aground.


Kevin


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

It was meant as a joke Kevin however it could be possible.
This is my main sailing water:
waddenzee overzicht.jpg
It's called the Waddenzee and every green part can dry out at (very) low tide. It's a very dynamic environment and from experience I know that the dredged channels can "relocate" themself in just few tide cycles and/or storms. It probably has the same characteristic's as Chesapeake bay.
But Andrew is right let's wait for the NTSB report

[Bill Perkins]

Was there wind the day of the accident ?Thinking also of Ever Given ;I wonder if allowable windage will prove to be the practical limit to the size of the container carrriers .

[Peerie Maa]

It was meant as a joke Kevin however it could be possible.
This is my main sailing water:
waddenzee overzicht.jpg
It's called the Waddenzee and every green part can dry out at (very) low tide. It's a very dynamic environment and from experience I know that the dredged channels can "relocate" themself in just few tide cycles and/or storms. It probably has the same characteristic's as Chesapeake bay.
But Andrew is right let's wait for the NTSB report

The Humber Estuary is a bit like that.

[Bob Adams]

And the Oscar for chutzpah goes to…

… the State of Maryland!

https://splash247.com/maryland-seeks...ard-grounding/

And people wonder why the USA is an international joke in the world of merchant shipping.

Yeah, that one surprised even me. Anyway, she picked up the boxes that were off loaded and departed for Norfolk this afternoon. I was aboard NS Savannah at the time and grabbed a couple shots.

ef1.jpg

ef3.jpg

[Bob Adams]

Perhaps Evergreen Marine can claim $100 million damage from the state of Maryland due to inaccurate dredging of the channels. That's just a fraction of the yearly budget of the state so they will be able to pay it

Well, no. Ships this size and in fact Ever Forward herself have navigated this channel for years with no problems. It is regularly maintenance dredged to 50 feet. I often fish the exact spot she grounded (now I have new structure with the hole she made) it is a wider section at the final angle leaving Baltimore. It's pretty obvious what happened, for whatever reason, human or mechanical, she failed to turn and plowed into the mudbank channel edge at 13 knots. That will plant you fairly deep.

[Bob Adams]

I'm jealous. She was too cool, wish she was still travelling the world and exciting school kids. Was it by accident you were there or do you work on her ?

She's still pretty cool and I can't believe I get to play with her! I'm a docent and president of the NS Savannah Association. My wife calls her "the other woman"

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

She's still pretty cool and I can't believe I get to play with her! I'm a docent and president of the NS Savannah Association. My wife calls her "the other woman"

One of the most beautiful merchant ships ever built. A billionaire looking for a yacht to impress with need look no further.

[Bob Adams]

So the result is in. The Chesapeake Bay Pilot was looking at his cell phone and missed the turn.

[Paul Pless]

wow

[Bobcat]

The marine casualty investigation report reveals that the pilot (referred to as “Pilot 1”) was relying solely on his Portable Pilot Unit (PPU) to navigate the 1,095-foot-long ship. Just prior to the grounding, the report says he exited the active navigation of his PPU to look at a previous transit.

The report also finds the pilot, identified by the state of Maryland as Captain Steven Germac, was repeatedly on his cell phone throughout the trip out of the Port of Baltimore. The report reads, “Pilot 1 also made a series of five phone calls amounting to over 60 minutes of time during the course of his outbound transit. He also sent two text messages and began drafting an email immediately before the grounding occurred regarding issues he experienced with facility line handlers.”

Germac was on the bridge around 8:17 p.m. with the Third Officer, Deck Cadet, and an Able Bodied Seaman (who was at the helm) when the ship passed its charted waypoint, marking a turn to approximately 180 degrees True. The Coast Guard says no order was given to turn the vessel and the helmsman maintained the previously ordered course of 161 degrees True. The pilot was using his cell phone at that time. About a minute later, the pilot noticed the vessel was past its turn and ordered 15 degrees rudder to starboard. That’s when the Ever Forward ran aground outside the Craighill Channel.

The Coast Guard’s investigation finds no mechanical issues or equipment failures contributed to this
marine casualty. They say the factors that contributed were “(1) failure to maintain situational awareness and attention while navigating, and (2) inadequate bridge resource management.”

To prevent similar marine incidents from happening in the future, USCG recommends that marine operators develop new policies “outlining when the use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices is appropriate or prohibited” and that vessel owners and operators make the crew aware of their “duties and obligations of officers on watch for the safety of the ship, even when a pilot is embarked.”

The same day the Coast Guard released its report, Capt. Germac’s license was suspended.




https://chesapeakebaymagazine.com/ba...ard-grounding/

[Canoeyawl]

Texting and driving is never a good idea...

[dutchpp]

Who was the legal employer of Captain Germac?

[Rich Jones]

So does he have to pay for the ship and cargo?

[Bob Adams]

Who was the legal employer of Captain Germac?

Bay Pilots Association I think.

[dutchpp]

Bay Pilots Association I think.

Thank you, I hope they are well insured.