Big Boat Stuck Again
March 15, 2022 4:33 AM   Subscribe

This is not a Doubles Jubilee post, they really have done it again. Almost a year to the day since the EVER GIVEN wedged herself across the Suez canal, another Evergreen ship - the deliciously inaptly named EVER FORWARD - is hard aground in Chesapeake Bay. AIS tracking suggests she may have missed the turn into the Craighill Channel on her way out of Baltimore, putting the 43ft deep ship - all 120,000 tons of her - firmly aground on a shoal in only 24ft of water. Refloating her will be a major operation. Strap yourselves in folks, for another exciting round of maritime salvage rubbernecking.
posted by automatronic (122 comments total) 36 users marked this as a favorite
 
Evergreen - we ship it, shittily!
Evergreen - when you absolutely must have it by some uncertain future time!
posted by Meatbomb at 4:41 AM on March 15, 2022 [9 favorites]


Evergreen - you want it when? lol
posted by NoMich at 4:53 AM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


Damn the topography! Full speed ahead!
posted by Naberius at 4:55 AM on March 15, 2022 [43 favorites]


MV Ever Forward Runs Aground in Chesapeake Bay
posted by NoMich at 4:56 AM on March 15, 2022


And for those who enjoyed the previous incident, you might have missed Bloomberg's excellent in-depth followup article, published in June of last year:

Six Days in Suez: The Inside Story of the Ship That Broke Global Trade
How the Ever Given and its billion-dollar cargo got stuck, got free, got impounded, and got taken to court.
posted by automatronic at 4:57 AM on March 15, 2022 [4 favorites]


For background on containerization, read one of the original popular Microhistory books, The Box which talks a little about the history of the Evergreen Group and Chang-Yung Fa. Fascinating stuff.
posted by lalochezia at 5:04 AM on March 15, 2022 [5 favorites]


Here's video from a news helicopter of the grounded ship.

When watching this, keep in mind: the red bits of the hull are supposed to be underwater when fully loaded.
posted by automatronic at 5:05 AM on March 15, 2022 [3 favorites]


You know, in all of the last... howeverlongagoitwas... the sea shanty thing was just about the last bit of random web culture I think I really enjoyed. If we're bringing back stuck boats, we could do worse than revisiting shanties on TikTok.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:14 AM on March 15, 2022 [12 favorites]


Bogged to the two axles, as they say where I come from.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 5:21 AM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


I'm a few days late for the dad-jokes thread, but apropos of Evergreen:

Two gool ol' boys are out driving a pickup truck, when they come to a bridge spanning the road. A sign next to it prominently announces "Clearance: 10 feet." One of the men gets out of the truck and measures the truck. "Can we make it?" asks the other. "Truck's 10 feet 6 inches," replies the first, "but I don't see any cops around, let's go for it."
posted by Mayor West at 5:22 AM on March 15, 2022 [38 favorites]


Evergreen - lightening our days since 2021...

How did they know the world needs a little comic relief on an on-going basis?
posted by rozcakj at 5:37 AM on March 15, 2022 [4 favorites]


It’s time to admit we’re all stuck in Groundhog Day until we learn to help others and confess our true desires to each other. Maybe then the song on the clock radio can move on.
posted by warriorqueen at 5:40 AM on March 15, 2022 [15 favorites]


On my first pass through this story, I somehow missed the fact that the Ever Forward has the same captain as the Ever Given had on its fateful voyage. Not only was he not fired for inflicting the single largest PR black eye the company has ever suffered, but he's still piloting the biggest cargo ships in the fleet! I really want to read this guy's bio, and figure out what kind of incriminating photos he has of Evergreen management.
posted by Mayor West at 5:42 AM on March 15, 2022 [33 favorites]


Also for any Baltimore area mefites: you can probably see where this ship is wedged. It's about 2 miles off the beach at Downs Park. It should also be on a straight line of sight right down the Patapsco from the city. Google Maps link.
posted by automatronic at 5:42 AM on March 15, 2022 [5 favorites]


I don't have much else to do today; maybe I'll drive down to Pinehurst and see if I can stand by the shore and wave to her.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:44 AM on March 15, 2022 [6 favorites]


I'd wager that Patrick O'Brian is rolling in his grave, by now.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:48 AM on March 15, 2022 [6 favorites]


Season 6 of The Wire
posted by rocketman at 5:53 AM on March 15, 2022 [20 favorites]


I am not a shipping, boats, or transport expert, obviously.

But wouldn't this one be inherently less damaging to the supply chain for the simple reason that incoming boats could simply dock at one of the many other ports north or south of Chesapeake Bay on the eastern seaboard?

Still not great for outgoing ships to be blocked. And could still hurt costs when companies have to pay to ship things to other ports. And maybe not great if/when those ports take on extra traffic that could slow them down.

But still: a bay is fundamentally not as critical as a canal, right?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:06 AM on March 15, 2022 [3 favorites]


Mayor West, where did you see that it was the same captain?
posted by DebetEsse at 6:07 AM on March 15, 2022


I know this is pedantic but the Bay is properly referred to, at least locally, exclusively with "the" in front of it. You will never hear anyone from Maryland (or the appropriate parts of Virginia, I would bet) refer to it as "Chesapeake Bay" but always as "the Chesapeake Bay". Compare the writing on Wikipedia against other bays: and throughout the respective articles. I do not know why this is the case, only that it definitely is. I think this feature of local speech was first pointed out to me by James A. Michener's Chesapeake in a moment of revelation. I had been saying something a certain way my entire life and never noticed it.
posted by timdiggerm at 6:09 AM on March 15, 2022 [23 favorites]


Mayor West, can you cite that bit about the ships having the same Captain? I see references to the "same operator" which is the company, but can't find anything talking about who was in command on the bridge.

Also, on a side note from another article on one of the linked pages, we all laughed and laughed, but I think we owe Captain John W. Trimmer an apology.
posted by Naberius at 6:11 AM on March 15, 2022 [3 favorites]


I know this is pedantic but the Bay is properly referred to, at least locally, exclusively with "the" in front of it.

As a Marylander, I can attest that a) this is correct, and b) it's so ingrained in my way of speaking that I never realized until this second it was different from the way I refer to every other bay in the world.
posted by escabeche at 6:12 AM on March 15, 2022 [15 favorites]


Imagine if you will that there are people somewhere in the world who have had to suffer through the last two years of pandemic and isolation the way everyone has PLUS they work in communications and marketing for the Evergreen Group.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:12 AM on March 15, 2022 [31 favorites]


Nope.
posted by firstdaffodils at 6:23 AM on March 15, 2022


In Seattle, we have “Elliot Bay” but also “The Puget Sound”.
posted by cnidaria at 6:24 AM on March 15, 2022


the Ever Forward has the same captain as the Ever Given had on its fateful voyage. Not only was he not fired for inflicting the single largest PR black eye the company has ever suffered, but he's still piloting the biggest cargo ships in the fleet!

Pilot =/= captain.
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:36 AM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


In Seattle, we have “Elliot Bay” but also “The Puget Sound”.

Weirdly, the Wikipedia article isn't written that way.
posted by timdiggerm at 6:39 AM on March 15, 2022


Season 6 of The Wire

FRANK SOBOTKA HAS HIS REVENGE.
posted by TheFantasticNumberFour at 6:39 AM on March 15, 2022 [16 favorites]


If we're bringing back stuck boats, we could do worse than revisiting shanties on TikTok.

dude if you think sea shanties on TikTok are great wait until I introduce you to this thing called sea shanties not on TikTok
posted by 7segment at 6:48 AM on March 15, 2022 [23 favorites]


Oh hey, is this the New England Shipping Schadenfreude thread?

Here's a fun addition, via Boston.com: UPS messed up reserving ferries to Nantucket this summer and it’s a big deal.
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:49 AM on March 15, 2022 [6 favorites]


At least it isn't full of cars. Or really expensive cars.
posted by TedW at 7:01 AM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


Current-day Virginian. Can attest “the Chesapeake.”

Lived ~25 years in Seattle. Have never (?) heard “The Puget Sound,” though I have heard “the Sound” and “the Puget Sound area.”
posted by cupcakeninja at 7:10 AM on March 15, 2022 [6 favorites]


> is properly referred to, at least locally, exclusively with "the" in front of it.

Is it like The Hague where if someone named their company after it, we'd properly refer to it as the The Chesapeake Bay Corporation?
posted by I-Write-Essays at 7:23 AM on March 15, 2022


At least this particular Ever Obstacle doesn't seem to be actively blocking the shipping channel, although efforts to free it might require it be closed for a while.
posted by hippybear at 7:26 AM on March 15, 2022


EVERGREEN is the gift that is ever giving.
posted by rodlymight at 7:29 AM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


I just found out that the ship was carrying red and blue paint and after the ship ran aground the crew was marooned.
posted by interogative mood at 7:41 AM on March 15, 2022 [48 favorites]


I went to vesselfinder.com and it pulled the Ever Forward up on the main page without my having to search for it.

They know what people want!
posted by evidenceofabsence at 7:49 AM on March 15, 2022 [6 favorites]


When are they going to christen a ship Ever Stuck?
posted by Catblack at 7:53 AM on March 15, 2022 [8 favorites]


Excuse my ignorance about the definite article for the Chesapeake Bay. I'm one of those pesky foreigners from across the pond, so my entire experience of local dialect is The Wire.

Thanks to the Marylanders for the correction; mods please feel free to correct the FPP.
posted by automatronic at 7:55 AM on March 15, 2022


Also there is a ship called Ever Living off the southern coast of Long Island right now. I hope it doesn’t get stuck. If it does, they might have to beat the Ever Living shit out of it.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 7:57 AM on March 15, 2022 [8 favorites]


Oh hey, is this the New England Shipping Schadenfreude thread?

Maryland is decidedly not part of New England, which is comprised of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and arguably Connecticut where the demarcation line is where people start rooting for the Yankees.

Maryland is more appropriately described as Central Atlantic.
posted by backseatpilot at 8:04 AM on March 15, 2022 [18 favorites]


It's a testimony to the sheer amount of mass involved that they got stuck so *evenly*. No getting stuck with part still tilted because on the bank of the channel, no they managed to drive it through 20 feet of mud the whole length of the ship and more. Despite presumably not going very fast since still in the bay.
posted by tavella at 8:17 AM on March 15, 2022 [5 favorites]


We need it to stay that way, too. If that load begins to shift, things could, for lack of a better term, go sideways rather quickly.
posted by hippybear at 8:19 AM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


Central Atlantic.

Middle Atlantic?
posted by mikelieman at 8:23 AM on March 15, 2022 [7 favorites]


As a person who is somewhat tasked with dealing with logistics problems in my daily life -- aka when products arrive late, sometimes people call me to Demand Answers! I have no Answers, no one has had any Answers since 2020, but nevertheless -- I'm so relieved it's not blocking anything.
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:27 AM on March 15, 2022 [6 favorites]


Not saying anything, not sure it means anything, just going to point out that according to my search on AIS, the Ever Given is approaching the Suez Canal as we type.
posted by nubs at 8:27 AM on March 15, 2022 [9 favorites]


Middle Atlantic?

MesoAtlantic ?
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 8:29 AM on March 15, 2022 [9 favorites]


Since this one grounded outside the shipping channel, it shouldn't impact shipping into and out of the Port of Baltimore too much. I wonder, however, if the Port of Baltimore may experience medium- to long-term effects.

The Port is already at a geographical disadvantage compared to New York and (especially) Hampton Roads, as calling at Baltimore requires adding a couple days to the itinerary sailing up then down the Chesapeake. Competing ports are basically right on the ocean. There is a canal -- the Chesapeake & Delaware -- that cuts across the top of the Delmarva, but it's not nearly wide enough to fit this large (and getting larger) ships.

Not only does the Bay add days of transit time, but it's also astonishingly shallow, and navigation has always been tricky. So Baltimore must continually spend money to keep the Bay channels and the harbor dredged in order to keep the port attractive to container shipping. But it's like trying to keep an ocean-fronting beach where it is: ultimately a losing battle.

Just random musings from a native Murlinner who studied transport geography back in the day....
posted by The Nutmeg of Consolation at 8:32 AM on March 15, 2022 [7 favorites]


Somewhere, an Egyptian excavator operator shuddered and exclaimed “I feel a disturbance in the World, as if millions of tonnes of earth and steel cried out at once!”

Then he rolled over and muttered “Not my problem this time” and went back to sleep.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 8:42 AM on March 15, 2022 [10 favorites]


Oh hey, is this the New England Shipping Schadenfreude thread?

"New England Shipping Schadenfreude" is the name of my Wes-Anderson-themed death metal band.
posted by PlusDistance at 8:48 AM on March 15, 2022 [16 favorites]


the Ever Forward has the same captain as the Ever Given had on its fateful voyage
Operator =/= captain =/= pilot.

In this instance, the operator referred to in the Twitter thread is Evergreen Marine Corporation.

I'm not sure who the captain of the Ever Forward is, but there was a Chesapeake Bay pilot aboard the vessel to help her navigate the channels in the Bay.
posted by alynnk at 8:50 AM on March 15, 2022 [3 favorites]


Maryland is more appropriately described as Central Atlantic.

Marylander here - we say Mid-Atlantic.

Now for the real debate, you have to declare whether we are a Northern or Southern state.
posted by Zargon X at 9:03 AM on March 15, 2022 [22 favorites]


Now hold on. Saying of the vessel that “she got herself stuck” is like saying of a human “she got herself pregnant.” Another party is involved here, people!
posted by scratch at 9:14 AM on March 15, 2022 [5 favorites]


Excuse my ignorance about the definite article for the Chesapeake Bay.

I overlooked the missing article entirely, parsing the sentence as headline speak. The ship ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay versus Ship runs aground in Chesapeake Bay.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:16 AM on March 15, 2022


Some people think that getting a ship stuck in a shipping lane is a tired old joke, but I say it's Evergreen.
posted by rodlymight at 9:27 AM on March 15, 2022 [26 favorites]


Now for the real debate, you have to declare whether we are a Northern or Southern state.

Stayed with the Union, above the Sweet Tea Line: Northern state.
(Although you'll always be a border state to me.)
posted by kirkaracha at 9:31 AM on March 15, 2022 [4 favorites]


Now for the real debate, you have to declare whether we are a Northern or Southern state

I thought some guys named Mason and Dixon settled that question a while ago…

Also, this probably isn’t something that could be solved by sprinkling Old Bay on the ship, but it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 9:33 AM on March 15, 2022 [4 favorites]


Maryland is decidedly not part of New England, which is comprised of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and arguably Connecticut where the demarcation line is where people start rooting for the Yankees.

Geographically, Connecticut absolutely is part of New England.

Culturally, it's a demilitarized zone between Yankee fans and BoSox nation.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:36 AM on March 15, 2022 [6 favorites]


BoSox? Do people day that? Not Red Sox? Or just Sox? BoSox feels like something a sports magazine made up.
posted by hippybear at 9:44 AM on March 15, 2022


BoSox?

It's just the Sox, unless you're flying in or out of Logan in which case your path usually takes you to BOSOX. Also the regional NWS weather radar is named BOX I think for the same reason.
posted by backseatpilot at 9:49 AM on March 15, 2022


BoSox?

Sounds like some sort of cosmetic treatment for saggy hosiery.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:57 AM on March 15, 2022 [5 favorites]


I know this is pedantic but the Bay is properly referred to, at least locally, exclusively with "the" in front of it. You will never hear anyone from Maryland (or the appropriate parts of Virginia, I would bet) refer to it as "Chesapeake Bay" but always as "the Chesapeake Bay".

100% correct, and also the most egregious mistake in "Hamilton" -- "Lafayette is there waiting in Chesapeake Bay."

But I guess we can forgive Lin-Manuel because he and Hamilton are both New Yorkers rather than Baltimorons.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 10:03 AM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


BoSox, as opposed to the PawSox.

Which is in the parlance of everywhere between Boston and Providence.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 10:06 AM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


BoSox? Do people day that? Not Red Sox? Or just Sox? BoSox feels like something a sports magazine made up.

I've heard it occasionally rendered thus, and not only by sports magazines.

It's just the Sox, unless you're flying in or out of Logan in which case your path usually takes you to BOSOX.

If you just say "Sox" how does one know you're not talking about the White Sox?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:07 AM on March 15, 2022


I'm also very amused that LITERALLY NO ONE is disputing my claim about Connecticut's culture (or the complete lack thereof).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:07 AM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


Also, Maryland is pronounced "mer-ih-land", not "mary-land". The BBC gets it wrong a lot.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 10:13 AM on March 15, 2022 [3 favorites]


Empress, that's because since the Whalers left, sports wise we have UConn and a WNBA team.

Also we have always been, in so many ways, between New York and Boston.
posted by cobaltnine at 10:18 AM on March 15, 2022


If you just say "Sox" how does one know you're not talking about the White Sox?

Easy: nobody in New England ever talks about the White Sox.

They might be talking about the PawSox but in that case they'll specify.
posted by mstokes650 at 10:18 AM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


Maryland and Delaware were Southern States and now, thanks to the cultural dominance and the growth of the East Coast Megalopolis, they're Northern States, just like Northern Virginia.

(of course if you get outside of Central MD you will discover the truth which is that only the middle part where most of the people live is a Northern State, while Western MD is essentially just West Virginia, while Southern MD and the Eastern Shore are culturally in the South)
posted by timdiggerm at 10:31 AM on March 15, 2022 [4 favorites]


I have to say that whenever I read about this kind of thing, I think with horror about the captain and/or various staffers who made the decisions that got the boat stuck. Like, I'm an accountant and not a particularly fancy one - almost every mistake I could possibly make can be reversed pretty easily with nothing worse than an email explaining myself and saying that I am very sorry indeed. I am so glad I am not in charge of a boat. No amount of money would be worth it.
posted by Frowner at 10:41 AM on March 15, 2022 [9 favorites]


Maryland is decidedly not part of New England, which is comprised of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont …

I offer fellow pendants this mnemonic:

If you can swap composed for comprised, then you must.

I.e., the words are not interchangable, and most people get compose right, so use that. If you really want to comprise, remember that the whole comprises the parts. New England comprises Maine, New Hampshire, etc.
posted by PresidentOfDinosaurs at 10:56 AM on March 15, 2022 [12 favorites]


timdiggerm, Delaware was in the Union.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 10:58 AM on March 15, 2022


"Chesapeake" is a city in Virginia. "The Chesapeake" is a bay. Chesapeake is located on the western shore of the Chesapeake.

Omitting the definite article isn't offensive or anything, it just identifies you as not from 'round here. Don't stress about it.
posted by biogeo at 11:04 AM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


So sick of hearing the words "supply chain" and wondering if I have enough of, well, everything...
posted by tiny frying pan at 11:08 AM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


My name is Eve Forward so I've been getting a kick out of the big stuck boat
posted by The otter lady at 11:10 AM on March 15, 2022 [6 favorites]


I’m just gonna call it “The Chez” to be all bougie and unique!

Fight me!
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 11:11 AM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


I offer fellow pendants this mnemonic:

I am hanging on your every word!
posted by chavenet at 11:17 AM on March 15, 2022 [7 favorites]


Nancy Lebovitz, so was Maryland.
posted by timdiggerm at 11:19 AM on March 15, 2022


This whole thread has just become Muphry's Law writ large.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:21 AM on March 15, 2022


The South of the US isn't defined by whether a state rebelled over slavery. Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia are all Southern states that remained loyal to the US (West Virginia being created from Virginia in the process, of course), while Kentucky is a Southern state that initially remained neutral in the Civil War before joining the Union when the Confederacy attacked it. The initial definition was cultural and regional, and the US Census still designates all these states as part of the regional South. As recently as the 1940s, when my grandfather moved there, Washington DC was a "sleepy Southern city" (in his words). Of course timdiggerm is right that today the cultural definition fails pretty badly since there are regions within the South that are culturally more similar to mid-Atlantic states, while arguably regions of mid-Atlantic states like Western PA are culturally more similar to "the South".
posted by biogeo at 11:27 AM on March 15, 2022 [3 favorites]


Within 20 comments this thread went from "boat stuck yay!" to the history/culture/language of the surrounding region.

The sequel never quite lives up to the thrill of the first one, does it?
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:42 AM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


I'm sure we could get a good vibe going on the historical antecedents of boats getting stuck in Chesapeake waterways over the last 400 years of someone wants to lay down some knowledge.
posted by biogeo at 11:50 AM on March 15, 2022


The sequel never quite lives up to the thrill of the first one, does it?
It could be blocking more of the bay, tbh, but I am trying not to let that dampen my enthusiasm.

I'm also very amused that LITERALLY NO ONE is disputing my claim about Connecticut's culture
Why would anyone argue with you when you’re right? There are maps.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 11:57 AM on March 15, 2022


Heh, biogeo... I was about to argue that the western tip of Virginia should be lumped in with West Virginia and Kentucky as sorta meh about the whole Union/Confederate thing. Still the south as it were, but in the mountains ain't nobody got no plantations and ain't nobody wealthy enough to have need for no slaves, that's what children are for. Might as well be part of West Virginia. It's the middle and the coast that get the real South going on. We're just mountain folk. Not quite as North as NOVA, still in the sweet tea zone. The whole north and west of The South gets pretty weird.
posted by zengargoyle at 12:12 PM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


amused that LITERALLY NO ONE is disputing my claim about Connecticut's culture (or the complete lack thereof)

The Yanks/Sox is one lens, but not the best or most accurate one, IMO. CT actually has three cultures (like NH) and is split up as Gold Coast, Hartford 'metro' / CT River Valley and the eastern ex-industrial / now casino turf.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 12:15 PM on March 15, 2022


John Shelton Reed's fun article "The South: What is it? Where is it?" [PDF] has some fun and interesting ways of defining what's considered the south, with maps.
posted by indexy at 12:19 PM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


It could be blocking more of the bay, tbh, but I am trying not to let that dampen my enthusiasm.

something something bloggers can't be choosers
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:44 PM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


That ship is not still stuck. But this ship is.
posted by nat at 1:03 PM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


So sick of hearing the words "supply chain" and wondering if I have enough of, well, everything...

Don’t worry, soon we’ll all be nostalgic for this time of random temporary shortages. You know, when we’re all wondering if we’ll ever have enough of anything.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:08 PM on March 15, 2022 [5 favorites]


Yeah, Appalachia exposes the weakness of the historic North/South division. Mountain folk are, and always have been, their own thing.

I tell you what, I don't think we're ever going to hear about an Evergreen ship getting stuck on the New River, that's for sure.
posted by biogeo at 3:35 PM on March 15, 2022


Big THE has wrapped its tentacles around Chessie Bay and Ohio State University. Damn shame.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 3:57 PM on March 15, 2022 [3 favorites]


brb, gotta ask the mods to add a “the” to my username…
posted by cheapskatebay at 5:18 PM on March 15, 2022 [13 favorites]


I tell you what, I don't think we're ever going to hear about an Evergreen ship getting stuck on the New River, that's for sure.

You know it’s impossible, I know it’s impossible, but for Evergreen it’s a dream, an inspiration. Imagine how beautifully, wonderfully stuck one of their ships could be in that river!

Let them have their dream. Don’t spoil it for them.
posted by jon1270 at 5:24 PM on March 15, 2022 [4 favorites]


It could be blocking more of the bay

I'm sitting here blocking the bay
Watching the tide roll away, ooh
I'm just sitting here blocking the bay
Wasting time
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:52 PM on March 15, 2022 [7 favorites]


The sequel never quite lives up to the thrill of the first one, does it?
Skip sequels set in and around Washington, D.C.
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:13 PM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


I know this is pedantic but the Bay is properly referred to, at least locally, exclusively with "the" in front of it.

Like a freeway in Southern California.
posted by ctmf at 6:42 PM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


Still stuck?
posted by vrakatar at 6:48 PM on March 15, 2022


So editorially weak.
Shipping volume is such that it has mishaps all the time.
BUT the Suez story got so many clicks that "Da Newz" can't help but to try and go for the clicks again by recycling a pretty obviously disimilar situation as if it was the same.
Feel free to play along and pretend it's happened again even though the Chesapeake isn't blocked and this has no effect on shipping locally, let alone globally.
posted by Fupped Duck at 7:09 PM on March 15, 2022


Ships seem to be running aground all over the place lately.

Must be something in the water…
posted by Big Al 8000 at 7:47 PM on March 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


When I said I wanted the banks to take a big hit, this isn't what I meant.
posted by biogeo at 8:42 PM on March 15, 2022 [5 favorites]


Back by popular demand for 2022

Snap quiz - MeFi user name or Shipping Vessel (see 2021 version here)

Vita Future or Vita Flo - Which is a MeFi user and which is a Bulk Carrier Vessel?

Click for answerThe Vita Future is a Bulk Carrier built in 2015. Vita Flo is a Mefi username.

Magnus - MeFi user or Crude Oil Tanker Vessel?

Click for answerTrick Question! Magnus is an Oil Products Tanker built in 2010, and is also a Mefi username.

Y6Y6Y6 - MeFi user or Bulk Carrier Vessel?

Click for answerY6Y6Y6 is a Mefi user, however Y6 is a Bulk Carrier built in 1986.

Green Attitude - MeFi user or Crude Oil Vessel?

Click for answerGreen Attitude is a Crude Oil Tanker built in 2018, however Attitude is a Mefi user.

Bangus and Bangga - Which is the MeFi user and which is a Bulk/Oil Carrier?

Click for answerBangus is a Bulk/Oil Carrier, while Bangga is a Mefi user.

Multi Delta - MeFi user or Chemical/Oil Products Tanker?

Click for answerMulti Delta is a Chemical/Oil Products Tanker built in 1989, however Multicast is a Mefi user.

ROBOT WS01 and Robot X - Which is the MeFi user and which is a Dredging or Underwater operations vehicle?

Click for answerRobot WS01 is a Dredging or Underwater operations vehicle, while Robot X is a Mefi user.

Red Cell and Red Azalea - Which is the MeFi user and which is a Bulk Carrier?

Click for answerRed Azalea is a Bulk Carrier, while Red Cell is a Mefi user.

Tornes - MeFi user or Shipping Vessel?

Click for answerTornes is a Aggregates Carrier built in 1969.

Dreamboat or Love Boat - Which is the MeFi user and which is a Cargo Vessel?

Click for answer Haha - you fools! Both are Cargo Vessels and neither are Mefi users!!!!! Dreamboat is a Cargo ship, and the Love Boat is a Cargo Ship.

posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:02 PM on March 15, 2022 [15 favorites]


the Love Boat is a Cargo Ship.

Very insulting to refer to their affection-seeking passengers as "cargo"...
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:09 PM on March 15, 2022 [5 favorites]


Very insulting to refer to their affection-seeking passengers as "cargo"...

But a lot of them come with a fuckton of baggage...
posted by hippybear at 9:12 PM on March 15, 2022 [10 favorites]


I think Stuck Boat Week should become a tradition.
posted by The otter lady at 9:22 PM on March 15, 2022 [5 favorites]


Big Boat Stuck was a bright spot for me in 2021 and I am surprised and pleased smol boat stuck makes me just as inexplicably happy. As soon as I saw the news I came to Metafilter to see if it had been posted. Glad we have this space to watch what happens together!
posted by alygator at 9:24 PM on March 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


I think Stuck Boat Week should become a tradition.

Infrastructure Week: Off Channel
posted by inflatablekiwi at 1:50 AM on March 16, 2022


Faint of Butt: can you open a GoFundMe so that we can chip in with you renting a digger to drive there in? Just as a gesture of appreciation towards EverGreen, providing a bit of comic relief.
posted by Stoneshop at 4:31 AM on March 16, 2022


If you like stuck boats on the Bay, check this out: on the bay side of the eastern shore, near the southern tip of the Delmarva, lies Kiptopeke State Park, and there visitors may view the Ghost Ships of Kiptopeke. Nine concrete ships (out of 28 total built) lie permanently offshore, originally placed to function as breakwaters for a ferry prior to construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. They are rotting picturesquely, mostly providing roosts for birds, and reefs for fish.

It is fascinating to view the seemingly endless ocean-bound line of container ships on the horizon with the old wrecks looming in the foreground. The Chesapeake: past, present and future.
posted by kinnakeet at 4:41 AM on March 16, 2022 [8 favorites]


I go sailing in the Chesapeake somewhat regularly, and have gone in and out of Baltimore several times. (From a sailor's perspective it's not a preferred destination, as it takes you several hours on motor to get from the Inner Harbor out to enough water to actually sail a larger keelboat... but being in the Inner Harbor in a boat is pretty neat, so it's worthwhile.)

The large ship channel from the Bay into and out of Baltimore's cargo facilities is pretty narrow, and constructed from a number of line-straight segments with navigation markers at each turn. Basically, the ship failed to make one of the turns and kept going straight when it should have made about a 15-deg turn to starboard. In doing so, they overran the edge of the dredged channel and discovered the natural depth of that part of the Bay, which is… not very deep.

Just to put it in perspective: Craighill Channel in that area is 700 feet wide. The Ever Forward is 48m wide, or 157.5 ft, for those of us who don't fuss around with that metric stuff (105 cubits if you're feeling Biblical).

Large ships in busy channels (at least in US waterways) tend to prefer to pass each other port-to-port (basically "driving on the right"), so you can think of the path the ship had to maintain as being roughly equivalent to driving an 8-foot wide ambulance across a single-lane bridge that's 17.5 feet (5.3m) wide. It's not impossible, but you only have about half a vehicle-width on each side of you. Not something you want to doze off while doing.

Without doing any trigonometry or breaking out a chart and set of dividers (and since I don't pay for MarineTraffic's historical data to see how fast it was going), just eyeballing their position and where it looks like they should have made their turn suggests they overshot by about 1 nm or so, which at 10 kts (not unusual for that area, and I've seen big ships really hauling ass faster than that, too), that's about 6 minutes when someone should have noticed something was wrong.

To maintain course in the channel, that area features "range lights", which are extra sets of navigation markers placed outside the channel on tall towers, in pairs with a shorter (nearer) light and a taller (further) light, so that if you line up the two lights so they're on top of each other (imagine using open sights on a gun), you're in the channel. You can also use the lights to determine when it's time to make a turn, if you're looking for them.

Giving the crew some benefit of the doubt against pure and simple incompetence (which, I dunno, maybe they are slightly less than deserving of as a company?), I'd hazard a guess that somebody was navigating by eye using the range lights and either missed the next set, or got target fixated on the prior set and just... didn't turn.

This sounds dumb (and, well, it kinda is, if you're in the business of driving big boats around for a living), but I have seen it happen on smaller boats. Someone I'm familiar with actually dismasted a sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (an impressive feat, given its air draft) because they lined themselves up for an approach by picking a target on the far shore to sail towards, and then just... did that. Literally right into a very large bridge. You'd think that's impossible, but I saw the wreck myself—it did. They had their eyes on their far-shore target, and their brain just didn't register the much closer hazard until it was almost on top of them, and by then their view was obstructed by the bimini (canvas roof over the cockpit). Next thing: wham. The human brain is weird.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:45 AM on March 16, 2022 [11 favorites]


Skip sequels set in and around Washington, D.C.

Except for Captain America: The Winter Soldier
posted by timdiggerm at 10:06 AM on March 16, 2022 [4 favorites]


How did Evergreen not change their name in the past year?
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 10:20 AM on March 16, 2022


Also, this probably isn’t something that could be solved by sprinkling Old Bay on the ship, but it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot.

Old Bay Seasoning is named after the Baltimore Steam Packet Company, nicknamed the Old Bay Line, that "provided overnight steamboat service on the Chesapeake Bay, primarily between Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia." ("Packet ships" were originally called that because they carried mail packets on government contracts.)

Gustav Brunn, a Jewish-German immigrant, started the Baltimore Spice Company in 1939 after arriving in the US with only a small spice grinder (and presumably some clothes). Brunn was arrested on Kristallnacht and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp. His family was able to secure his release.

Old Bay Seasoning was originally named Delicious Brand Shrimp and Crab Seasoning, which is true, but too limiting. You can put that stuff on almost anything.

See The Untold Truth Of Old Bay Seasoning for more. "Old Bay is now owned by McCormick, who once fired Gustav Brunn" before he founded his own spice company.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:43 AM on March 16, 2022 [7 favorites]


How did Evergreen not change their name in the past year?

Because then they'd have to rename all their ships, including Ever Uranus.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:44 AM on March 16, 2022 [1 favorite]


In Seattle, we have “Elliot Bay” but also “The Puget Sound”.

To add to the pedantry, this is incorrect. It is just "Puget Sound". As in "I live on Puget Sound", no "the".

Source: I've been corrected several times by salty old mariners and boat people in the area.

It provokes the same reaction as when someone says "The 5 Freeway" instead of simply "I-5" and outs you as someone from LA where they have that weird "The FreewayName" because their freeways have names because some of the pre-date the Interstate highway system.
posted by loquacious at 10:57 AM on March 16, 2022


It's always easy to blame incompetence, or clever ideas like target fixation. But around here at least, there's always been a bit of a pattern to cargo ships going aground. Here's a selection of those I've read about over the years; see if you can spot a theme. Spoiler alert: it's capitalism.
posted by automatronic at 11:30 AM on March 16, 2022 [3 favorites]


CT actually has three cultures (like NH) and is split up as Gold Coast, Hartford 'metro' / CT River Valley and the eastern ex-industrial / now casino turf.

Yeah, I know - I am actually from the Eastern/Casino turf originally. I was trying to make a joke.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:37 AM on March 16, 2022


Wasn't the Ever Forward being piloted/steered by a local pilot? It was my understanding that a local pilot takes over and 'drives' the ship through tricky navigation hazards, especially in places like harbors. The whole point is to have a local expert who is very familiar with the particular channels, tides, etc in that location.
posted by ryanrs at 11:41 AM on March 16, 2022 [1 favorite]


This ship might actually be even more stuck than Ever Given was.

Someone has flown a drone out and taken some good photos; of particular interest is the first one here, which shows a closeup of the draft marks at the bow. She sailed at 12.8m draft, and the water is currently lapping around the 11m mark (and won't change much with the small tides in that area). So she's sitting about 1.8m / 6ft above where she would be if she was floating. From that figure, and her length and width (334 x 48m), we can calculate the weight that's resting on the mud - I make it around 25,000 tons. That's how much weight has been carried upwards as she went aground.

Now, there's a rule of thumb that says to pull something sideways out of mud, you need about a quarter of the force that it's exerting downwards on the mud. In this case, that'd be about 6,000 tons force. Your typical large harbour tug has a bollard pull of 50-60 tons. It would take a hundred of them. The current world record for bollard pull is held by the Island Victory, which is designed for moving oil rigs around. You'd need a dozen ships of that size.

It's not happening. They're going to have to offload her in situ, box by box. It will take a long, long time.
posted by automatronic at 4:25 AM on March 17, 2022 [3 favorites]


Wasn't the Ever Forward being piloted/steered by a local pilot?

A pilot doesn't steer the ship. They can advise and give instructions, but the ship remains under the command of its master. The usual crew are at the helm.

I sail on small ships, and have steered with a pilot aboard sometimes, as required by certain ports. They have a tendency to stand on the bridge with their hands clasped behind their back, so that it remains extremely clear to everyone that they are hands-off.
posted by automatronic at 4:52 AM on March 17, 2022 [2 favorites]


My father, who lived his entire life as a Red Sox fan, called them the Bo Sox. Maybe it's generational.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:50 PM on March 18, 2022


Today is the first anniversary of the Ever Given getting stuck.

As if to mark the occasion, a moderately sized barge is now wedged sideways across the River Hull in Yorkshire.

Meanwhile, the Ever Forward is still stuck in the Chesapeake Bay.
posted by automatronic at 2:54 PM on March 23, 2022


See The Untold Truth Of Old Bay Seasoning for more.

This is weeks late, but I just saw this comment and I wanted to thank you for it. Reading about the history of Old Bay is extremely my jam, and an excellent addition to a post about jamming a boat in a bay.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 8:22 AM on April 1, 2022


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