Work starts to free Ever Forward stranded in Chesapeake Bay

Tug boats began working to dislodge a stranded container ship Tuesday, more than two weeks after it ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay

BALTIMORE -- Tug boats began working to dislodge a stranded container ship Tuesday, more than two weeks after it ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay.

From shore, three tug boats could be seen pulling on taut lines attached to the rear of the Ever Forward, sending puffs of smoke into the air. Dozens of people gathered at a park nearby to watch the work Tuesday afternoon.

The more than 1,000-foot (305-meter) ship operated by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp. was headed from the Port of Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia, on March 13 when it ran aground north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Officials have said there were no reports of injuries, damage or pollution.

A salvage company began dredging around the ship a week later and Evergreen said in a statement Tuesday that enough material has been displaced for the attempts to free the vessel. The plan was for five tugboats to work together in the effort and to reduce the ballast water on Ever Forward to lighten the ship, Evergreen said.