The Potential Impacts of the “Ever Forward” Cargo Ship
A container ship named Ever Forward has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay for 19 days.
While there have been numerous efforts to free the ship that ran aground on March 13th, no attempts have been successful.
Captain Newberry and other watermen have expressed great concern over the long term environmental impacts the stuck ship could have on that part of the Bay, particularly the flora and fauna at the Bay bottom which may suffer lasting damage.
It is currently the spawning season in the upper Bay, and it is possible that the effects of the immobile ship and dredging will cause disruption to the season.
In addition, the ship is stuck in proximity to natural oyster bars and could have adverse effects on commercial fisheries, including the crabbing industry, in which the season starts April 1st.
“Bottom line is, the trough that’s going to be left there is going to be epic proportion,” Newberry told WBAL TV. “Have they destroyed any crabs? Have they destroyed any oysters? You know this is the spawning season now for striped bass. Is this going to affect the spawning?”
Click here to read articles with more information:
https://www.greenmatters.com/p/ever-forward-container-ship-impact
Dredging “Ever Forward” cargo ship could negatively affect crab, fish and oyster populations
