B R E A K I N G N E W S
(Baltimore MD 31 MAR 22)
The International Longshoreman’s Union in cooperation with MITAGS has announced today the establishment of a training course for longshoreman that will result in a certificate for Embarked Twistlock Operators (air mobile). This in anticipation of the expected helo-lightering operation involving the Ever Forward currently grounded within the union’s local chapter area of operations. According to ILU local president Everett T. Rearward “we are confident the Department of Labor will rule in our favor with regard to this work being reserved for our membership”. Continuing he said “although the lightering barge will be afloat as long as the Ever Forward remains firmly attached to the planet earth this is a ship / shore transfer and within the scope of our contract in this port”. “This is just the beginning” Rearward went on. “We foresee air mobile checkers tallymen and straw bosses certificate programs soon”
They will be working about 9 miles from the nearest gas
They can float a gas station to the salvage area or even place one atop the Ever Forward - as the Brits did to refuel Harriers in la guerra de las Malvinas.
If the dredging and 35,000hp in tugs didn’t free her, it would be surprising if an additional 30kts of favorable wind and a few extra inches of tide around her were the decisive factors.
Any theories about why four of the five tugs were trying to move her laterally, and only one was trying to pull her back out of the hole she made? All of the deepest water in those hydrographic images is directly astern of the ship.
Five tugs were positioned today after nearly 10 days of dredging removed 84,000 cubic yards of spoil from around on behind the vessel. The salvage team’s analysis of the situation showed that the stern was closest to the channel so the efforts had tried to push the vessel from her starboard side while other tugs pulled in an attempt to move her backward toward the channel.
Assuming that massive pulling force could be mustered to pull her off, doesn’t that greatly increase the potential for serious damage?
She has been driven about 6 feet up on her draft marks.
It seems to me that the simplest, and least likely to cause damage, approach is to either lighter her enough to float in the available depth, or to dredge all the way around her and out into deep water. In addition to dredging around her, water jetting may be required to dredge under the ship.
Probably some combination of lightering and dredging will be required.
Pulling on her with 35,000 hp at “high” tide seems laughable. The tides are tiny and she 6 feet up on her marks. The tide is meaningless in this situation. So is the wind. So is 35,000hp.
To make things worse, we are nearing the end of “dredging season”. If you dredge after a certain date in the spring, it is illegal and the fines are large. My marina found this out the hard way.
State Wildlife agencies are probably the most influential in imposing dredging seasons in state waters and private marinas. I’m pretty sure the feds wouldn’t prevent dredging in open water next to a federally maintained channel to release the ship so it can roam the planet once more and go get stuck in somebody else’s waters. Leaving it there to settle for long is not an option.
The local agency representatives I dealt with in our harbor had bizarre requests. We had to punch holes in our short jetties so the fish could pass through on their travels. I dealt with a rotating roster of reps; green college grads who couldn’t explain why the fish would resent having to swim around a short jetty along the beach.
Just a quick question to those with local knowledge if I may.
With the view that containers will be offloaded onto flat barges, is there a nearby transfer point/ intermodal and roughly what would be the steaming distance?
This sort of reminds me of when the USS Intrepid was removed for drydocking a bunch of years back. Dredging was done around the stern in the hopes she could be pulled straight out of her slip, but she was wrapped up in 30+ years of Hudson River silt and muck and the low-cost digout that was done didn’t quite do the truck. I think there were 5 or 6 tugs pulling at her and she barely moved 6ft. Later they revealed her screws dug in, apparently that hadn’t been accounted for. The answer was another month of more extensive (and expensive) digging and a few extra tugs to get her on her way.
NEW: MD – Temporary Safety Zone for Grounded Ship, Craighill Channel Area:
The Coast Guard established a temporary safety zone upon certain waters of the Chesapeake Bay within a 500 yard radius of the container ship EVER FORWARD through 9 p.m. on April 13, 2022. The vessel is currently aground approximately 800 yards south of Craighill Channel Lighted Buoy 16 (LLNR 8085), in approximate position 39°06′39′′ N, 076°23′30′′ W.
The safety zone is necessary to provide for the safety of persons and the marine environment from the potential safety hazards associated with damage assessments, dredge and salvage operations. No vessel or person will be permitted to enter the safety zone without obtaining permission from the Captain of the Port (COTP) or a designated representative. The COTP is currently issuing a Broadcast Notice to Mariners (BNM) via VHF- FM marine channel 16 that allows transit through the safety zone for one-way traffic at a reduced safe speed but is subject to change. Mariners are requested to monitor the VHF channel 16 for the latest information. Those in the safety zone must comply with all lawful orders or directions given to them by the COTP or the COTP’s designated representative. The U.S. Coast Guard may be assisted in the patrol and enforcement of the safety zone by Federal, State, and local agencies.
Due to the nature and severity of the grounding, dredging operation will need to be conducted around the EVER FORWARD and commenced on March 20, 2022 and take approximately 7-10 days to complete. Dredging will start outside the eastern edge of Craighill Channel and progress eastward towards the starboard side of EVER FORWARD. Dredge assets include the bucket dredge DALE PYATT and the clamshell dredge OYSTER BAY as well as six scows, various tugs and support vessels. All will be working on VHF channel 78 and monitoring channels 13 and 16. Dredged material will be transported by scow to the Northern Access Channel Turning Basin at Poplar Island in Talbot County, MD for placement by the off- loader barge KRAKEN. Mariners are to use extreme caution when transiting in the vicinity and abide by the Safety Zone and any allowances by the COTP advertised in the BNM via VHF-FM marine channel 16.
For any comments or questions regarding the contents of this local notice to mariners article, contact U.S. Coast Guard Sector Maryland-National Capital Region Waterways Management staff at (410) 576-2674, or the Sector "
“dredging operation will need to be conducted around the EVER FORWARD and commenced on March 20, 2022 and take approximately 7-10 days to complete”
Once we have agreed on the casualty drafts, lets offload the boxes.
The air lift scenario looks good and interesting but may be very exhausting on the budgets available.
Following Your lead as indicated in the Rena case, what about using the baby as indicated on the below picture. Surely it is a stable platform for not one but several gantries as such are transported in assembled condition using similar ships. The issue of her drafts needs to be considered but gantries are not very heavy. Wonder what is more expensive - air lift or heavy lift hire.
