The U.S. state of Maryland has asked Evergreen to set up a liability fund of up to $100 million to cover losses related to Ever Forward’s stranding in the Chesapeake Bay for more than a month.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, a Democratic candidate who is also running for governor of Maryland, recently wrote in a letter to Benjamin Tsai, president of Evergreen Shipping USA, that the Ever Forward stranding incident has a serious impact on the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay. caused damage.

Peter Franchot wrote in the letter that since Ever Forward ran aground on March 13, personnel from federal, state and local governments and other agencies have continued to carry out rescue work and made every effort to get rid of it.

While the dredging operation was necessary for the rescue, it also had impacts on the surrounding environment, including damage to oyster breeding grounds in the bay and the spawning season of several marine organisms, which would directly reduce the seafood industry in the region and the income of practitioners in the coming months. In addition, possible hull ruptures and oil spills will also cause damage to the environment.

As a result, the State of Maryland is requesting Evergreen to establish a liability fund to provide compensation to interested parties, including payments to federal, state, and local agency personnel who help Ever Forward get out of trouble, as well as seafood industry practitioners, Corresponding compensation for the impact of rescue operations on the seafood harvest season.

Peter Franchot said: “The establishment of this fund will send a clear message that Evergreen is a business of integrity, understands the damage this incident has caused to Maryland’s environment and economy, and lives up to its commitment to environmental protection. I We sincerely hope that Evergreen will take action as soon as possible to correct the impact of this incident on the Gulf and local residents.”

On March 13, local time, Ever Forward ran aground at a depth of about 25 feet (7.62 meters) outside the Craighill Channel in the Chesapeake Bay shortly after leaving the Port of Baltimore, United States. It wasn’t until April 17, more than a month later, that Ever Forward got out of trouble.

At present, the cost of the rescue, which took more than a month, and the impact of the incident on the Gulf environment are still unclear. In addition, the long-term dredging work caused by the rescue operation has also raised concerns among environmentalists.

Doug Myers, a scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said that before the dredging work to rescue Ever Forward, the water depth of the Chesapeake Bay was only about 20 feet, and the seabed had enough dissolved oxygen to benefit the oceans such as oysters. biological habitat. But the “long-range” stranded event will kill marine life in the stranded area. In addition, the dredging operation has also doubled the depth of the bay, and the dissolved oxygen in the deep water is insufficient to maintain the survival of marine life.

According to an announcement issued by Evergreen on April 17, the Ever Forward was not appreciably damaged, polluted or obstructed the shipping lanes during the run.

Ever Forward is an Evergreen 12000TEU-class F-type container ship with a length of about 334 meters and a width of 48.4 meters. It can load 12118TEU, with an average draft of 13 meters and a design speed of 24.1 knots. It will be delivered in 2020.

The shipping schedule on Evergreen’s official website shows that Ever Forward is currently deployed on the Asia-East America route, with ports of call including Xiamen, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Yantian, Cologne, Savannah, New York, Norfolk, and Baltimore. The ship was en route from Baltimore to Norfolk when the grounding occurred.