Evergreen Marine Corp has declared general average after the failure to free a container ship that ran aground off Baltimore, Maryland, on the US east coast.
It said the declaration was necessary “in the light of increasing costs arising from continued attempts” to refloat the 12,118-teu Ever Forward (built 2020).
The principle of general average in marine insurance is to proportionally share the costs or losses of saving a ship between all cargo owners.
The Taiwanese carrier urged shippers to provide security bonds so that they can take delivery of their cargo at its next port of call once the neo-panamax is freed.
It has appointed adjuster Richards Hogg Lindley to oversee the general process.
The Hong Kong-flag vessel ran aground in Chesapeake Bay on 13 March on its way to Norfolk, Virginia, after discharging/loading cargo at Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal, and has not moved since.
Dredging operations and attempts to refloat it involving salvor Donjon-Smit on 29 and 30 March were unsuccessful.
Evergreen said it “has been making every effort to refloat the stranded ship on behalf of the common interests of cargo owners and the safety of all involved”.
Cautionary purposes
It said it declared general average for “cautionary purposes”, as the “complexity of further rescue operations would require more manpower, equipment and costs to refloat the stranded vessel”.
There have been no reports of injuries or pollution-related spills.
But the declaration of general average is likely to prove costly to cargo interests that are required to share the cost of the incident.
Specialist claims consultancy WK Webster warned shippers to expect further delays, citing reports that further attempts to refloat the vessel, involving additional assistance from two anchored barges, will be made on 3 and 4 April.
“If those attempts also prove unsuccessful, efforts will be made to partly lighten the vessel by transhipping some containers from the vessel,” it said.
“In that case, the delivery of cargo to destination ports will be further delayed.”
The Ever Forward is owned by Evergreen Marine (Hong Kong), a subsidiary of Evergreen Marine Corp.
It had been operated for Evergreen Line together with OCEAN Alliance partners on services from Asia to the US east coast.
The vessel has protection and indemnity insurance from Norway’s Gard and is classed by UK-based Lloyd’s Register.
It is worth an estimated $199m, according to VesselsValue.
This incident comes a year after Evergreen’s chartered-in Ever Given became wedged in the Suez Canal, blocking the waterway for six days.
