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Cargo Ship Runs Aground in US, a Year after Sister Vessel Blocked Suez Canal

The Ever Forward (pictured) has the same owners as the Ever Given, which clogged up the Suez Canal last year. (EPA)
The Ever Forward (pictured) has the same owners as the Ever Given, which clogged up the Suez Canal last year. (EPA)
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Cargo Ship Runs Aground in US, a Year after Sister Vessel Blocked Suez Canal

The Ever Forward (pictured) has the same owners as the Ever Given, which clogged up the Suez Canal last year. (EPA)
The Ever Forward (pictured) has the same owners as the Ever Given, which clogged up the Suez Canal last year. (EPA)

The Ever Forward container ship is currently grounded in the Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore, according to the US Coast Guard, nearly a year after another ship run by the same company blocked the Suez Canal for six days.

The container ship is operated by Evergreen Marine Corp Taiwan Ltd, the same Taiwanese transportation company that operates the Ever Given. The Ever Given ran aground last March, blocking traffic in the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest waterways and the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

The Coast Guard received reports on Sunday that the Ever Forward was grounded and is now conducting checks every four hours to ensure the safety of the crew on board and marine life, according to Petty Officer 3rd Class Breanna Centeno.

The Coast Guard says the ship is grounded outside of the canal and is not blocking the traffic of other container ships.

Evergreen Marine said in an emailed statement that the incident had not caused a fuel leakage, and did not block the navigation channel or disrupt traffic entering or leaving the port.

"Evergreen is arranging for divers to conduct underwater inspections to confirm any damage to the vessel, and is coordinating with all the concerned parties to refloat the ship as soon as possible," it said.

"The cause of the incident is under investigation by the competent authority."

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Israel Says it Targeted Nuclear Sites in Iran's Natanz and Arak

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Arak heavy water reaction in Iran on March 20, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Arak heavy water reaction in Iran on March 20, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
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Israel Says it Targeted Nuclear Sites in Iran's Natanz and Arak

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Arak heavy water reaction in Iran on March 20, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Arak heavy water reaction in Iran on March 20, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had targeted the Arak nuclear reactor in Iran overnight and struck what it said was a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz.

Among its nuclear sites, Iran had a partially built heavy-water research reactor originally called Arak and now Khondab.

Iranian media reported on Thursday morning that air defenses were activated in the area of the Khondab nuclear facility, with two projectiles hitting an area close to it.

Officials told Iranian state TV that evacuations were made prior to the strikes and that no risks of radiation or casualties were detected. There was no mention of any damage.

Natanz, which Israel had previously struck during its six-day-old aerial war with Iran, was the site of a complex at the heart of Iran's nuclear program that included two enrichment plants.

The Israeli military added that it targeted the structure of the reactor's core seal in Arak, which it identified as a key component in plutonium production.
Khondab hosts a partially-built heavy-water research reactor.

Construction was halted under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, and the reactor's core was removed and filled with concrete to make it unusable.

However, Iran informed the UN's nuclear watchdog it planned to start operating the reactor in 2026.

Heavy-water reactors pose a nuclear proliferation risk because they can easily produce plutonium which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make the core of a bomb.

Iran says its nuclear program, the target of Israeli strikes, is purely for peaceful purposes.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, has been urging Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear sites. IAEA inspectors reportedly last visited Arak on May 14.

Due to restrictions Iran imposed on inspectors, the IAEA has said it lost “continuity of knowledge” about Iran’s heavy water production -- meaning it could not absolutely verify Tehran’s production and stockpile.

As part of negotiations around the 2015 deal, Iran agreed to sell off its heavy water to the West to remain in compliance with the accord’s terms. Even the US purchased some 32 tons of heavy water for over $8 million in one deal. That was one issue that drew criticism from opponents to the deal.