'Ever Forward' runs aground in US one year after 'Ever Given' blocked Suez Canal

Container ship was stranded in Chesapeake Bay shortly after leaving Baltimore port on Sunday

A massive container ship owned by the same company as the Ever Given has run aground in the US, officials said on Monday.

The 334-metre Ever Forward ran aground in Chesapeake Bay shortly after leaving a Baltimore port on Sunday night, said Maryland Port Administration executive director William Doyle on Monday.

The accident happened almost exactly a year after the 200,000-ton container ship MV Ever Given became wedged in the Suez Canal during a sandstorm, blocking the key waterway for six days.

“There have been no injuries or spills,” Mr Doyle said. “The ship's grounding is not preventing other ships from transiting to the Port of Baltimore.”

Mr Doyle said efforts had been under way since Sunday night to free the stranded vessel, which was bound for Norfolk, Virginia, when the accident happened.

Both vessels are owned by the Evergreen Marine Corp, which is based in Taiwan.

A satellite image shows the 'MV Ever Given' cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal in March 2021. AP

The Suez Canal is a vital artery from Asia to Europe that carries 10 per cent of global maritime trade and provides Egypt with vital revenue.

Work began in February to expand the two-way section of the canal by 10 kilometres. But widening the whole waterway was deemed too expensive to be viable, said the chairman of the authority managing the Egyptian Suez Canal.