A year after a giant container ship was stuck in the Suez Canal for nearly a week and disrupted global trade for months, another ship from the same shipping company has run aground. This time near the American capital Washington.

 

Hong Kong-flagged Ever Forward, owned by Taiwan-based container shipping company Evergreen Marine Corp, ran aground Sunday evening after leaving the port of Baltimore in the state of Maryland. When it got stuck in Chesapeake Bay, the 334-foot ship was en route to Norfolk, Virginia.

“The ship running aground will not prevent other ships from continuing to the port of Baltimore,” said the director of the Maryland Port Administration. “Efforts have been made since last night to free the ship and will continue today. The Coast Guard is monitoring the situation.”

Divers inspect the ship for any damage, and the shipping company is cooperating in coordinated efforts to get the ship back on track as quickly as possible. In addition, the company said an investigation into the crash’s cause had been launched.

Last year, the 400-meter Ever Given, a ship chartered by Evergreen that was on its way to Rotterdam at the time, got stuck in the Suez Canal for six days. The ship and its 17,600 containers blocked the channel in both directions. The blockade of the important shipping route created long queues of hundreds of ships unable to sail from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea or vice versa. Finally, the stranded ship was refloated by Boskalis and the subsidiary SMIT Salvage experts.

It is more common for ships to run aground. For example, a Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings cruise ship ran aground Monday afternoon while trying to leave a port in the Dominican Republic. According to a company spokesperson, the Norwegian Escape hit the canal bed as it departed Puerto Plata. Guests and crew are safe, and the ship is undamaged. The company is working on a solution to free the ship and prepare it for a safe departure.