Claim $100,000,000! ? The Evergreen Stranding Incident Caused Huge Losses And Compensation...

On March 13, local time, the "Long Range" ship ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay shortly after leaving the Port of Baltimore in the United States. It was not until April 17, more than a month later, that the "long-distance" round was out of trouble.

In response to the stranding incident, the U.S. state of Maryland requested Evergreen Shipping to set up a liability fund worth $100 million to cover related expenses.

In a recent letter to Benjamin Tsai, president of Evergreen Shipping Americas, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, a Democratic candidate who is also running for governor of Maryland, said:

"While we do not yet know the full environmental impact of the accident so far, a 131,420-ton vessel carrying tons of cargo and fuel stuck in our waters has undoubtedly damaged the Gulf's fragile ecosystem."

Therefore, the state of Maryland requires Evergreen to establish a liability fund to provide compensation to relevant parties, including the corresponding payments to federal, state and local agency personnel who helped the "long-range" ship out of trouble, as well as seafood industry practitioners, Provide corresponding compensation for the impact of rescue operations on the seafood harvest season.

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 the "long-haul" ship, the water depth of the Chesapeake Bay was only about 20 feet, and the seabed had enough dissolved oxygen for oysters. and other marine life habitats. 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.

Previously, Evergreen Shipping's ultra-large container ship "Changcheng" ran aground near the Chesapeake Bay on the evening of March 13 with nearly 5,000 containers on board. After the accident, the rescue team tried several times to get out of the shallow, but all ended in failure. After exhausting all rescue options, on April 9 the rescue team began removing containers from the ship to reduce the weight of the ship, while dredging the bottom of the ship.

On April 14, after being stranded for a full 35 days, with the help of 2 barges and 5 tugboats, the "long-haul" ship finally re-floated at high tide. About 500 containers on board were unloaded for escape. The ship was not significantly damaged during the grounding, and after completing the corresponding inspections, it has proceeded to the next port of Norfolk to load and unload the cargo according to the original voyage.

Evergreen Shipping expressed its gratitude to the rescue team, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Maryland State Government and all walks of life for their assistance and concern. After more than a month of hard work, they finally overcome all difficulties and successfully escaped the long-haul ship and will conduct underwater operations at the nearby anchorage. After checking and confirming that it is safe, return to Baltimore Port to load the previously unloaded containers, and then proceed to the next port (Norfolk) for loading and unloading according to the original voyage.

Although Evergreen Shipping emphasized that there was no oil leakage from the "long-haul" ship and there was no risk of pollution, the accident still aroused the concerns of environmentalists. "These shallow sandbars and oyster breeding grounds are very important habitats for organisms including clams and worms, but the dredging now necessary to rescue the 'long' ships will be A lot of shallower water becomes deeper water."

It is understood that the "Changcheng" ship has just been put into operation in 2020. This is the fourth ship in a series of eight 12,100TEU container ships ordered by Evergreen Shipping at Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. The ship has a total length of 334 meters and a width of 48 meters. It can carry 11,850 20-foot containers with a gross tonnage of 110,000 tons. The ship belongs to Evergreen Hong Kong Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Evergreen Shipping, and is currently deployed on the Far East-U.S. East Coast route.

Previously, Evergreen Shipping had declared general average on March 31 and assigned general average adjuster Richards Hogg Lindley to handle general average-related matters. The owner of the cargo on the ship and the joint venture partner who uses the space need to provide the necessary guarantees and documents as soon as possible in accordance with the general average adjustment rules, so that the related matters such as the delivery of the goods can be smoothly handled after the ship is out of trouble and the goods arrive at the port.