Chesapeake Bay

‘At the Whims of the Tide': All of Woman's Belongings on Ship Stuck in Bay

She and her husband shipped their things during a move from Hong Kong to New York

NBC Universal, Inc.

One woman says her worldly possessions –– almost everything she and her husband own –– are inside a container on the Ever Forward, the ship that has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay for weeks.

Tracy Alloway, a financial reporter for Bloomberg, had been living in Hong Kong with her husband for several years until she recently moved to New York City. She said they shipped all of her belongings except for what they could take on a plane.

"We are at the whims of the tide and the salvage crew of the Ever Forward," Alloway said. "Everything except the three or four bags that my husband took on the plane. The entire contents of our apartment, all of our furniture, lots of books, things of sentimental value are all in a container stuck in the Chesapeake Bay."

On Wednesday, two additional tugboats joined the five tugboats that tried on Tuesday to pull and push the Ever Forward back into the shipping channel. Curious onlookers watched from the shore. According to the Coast Guard, there was no progress made during Tuesday's attempt to get Ever Forward out of the mud.

It all started earlier this month when the Ever Forward heading out of Baltimore Harbor missed a turn in the channel and ran aground.

The ship, which needs 42 feet of water to float, found itself in about 24 feet of water. The entire hull of the ship now rests on the bottom of the bay.

For more than a week, crews have been working to dredge out the mud beneath the ship in an attempt to refloat it.

While Alloway and her husband have bought a bed and utensils for their new apartment, she doesn't expect to get the rest of her belongings for weeks — if not longer.

If Wednesday's efforts don't work, shipping lanes will reopen so other ships can pass through. It's possible crews will also lose a few days of dredging due to high winds in the area. Crews will continue to do more dredging and will bring in two large barges with cranes to attach to the ship. Crews will then try to pull the ship out of the mud with the help of additional tugboats.

If that doesn't work, it might be until mid-April, when the tide is high enough, that crews will be able to free the ship.

Contact Us