One of the ships belonging to Evergreen Marine Corporation has been detained at Qingdao port in China for investigation subsequent to a collision with another vessel.
The Ever Lucid, an 8,508 TEU vessel constructed in 2014 and assigned to Evergreen’s Transpacific Northwest Service, reportedly collided with an unidentified Chinese cargo ship at approximately 1 am local time on March 14th. Departing from Qingdao shortly before 10 pm local time on March 13th, the Ever Lucid, flagged in Taipei, was originally bound from Shanghai to the port of Ningbo.
Upon discovery that the 12 crew members aboard the Chinese vessel were in distress, the captain of the Ever Lucid promptly turned back to assist in their rescue.
Local media outlets have indicated that the Chinese vessel may have failed to adhere to collision avoidance protocols.
In an official statement, Evergreen stated, “Following directives from the local maritime authorities, the Ever Lucid proceeded to anchor at Qingdao. The Chinese cargo ship was also safely relocated to a berth within the port. Both crews are presently cooperating with the maritime investigative team. Thankfully, the incident resulted only in damage to the hulls of the vessels, with no injuries or fuel leaks reported.”
The Taiwan Transportation Safety Board announced its decision not to initiate an investigation.
Chairman Lin Shinn-der remarked, “There were no casualties, injuries, or significant environmental impacts. We will defer to the investigative efforts of the Chinese authorities.”
This marks the second incident involving the Ever Lucid. In April 2021, the vessel collided with a Chinese fishing trawler outside the Zhoushan port, resulting in the disappearance of five out of six crew members aboard the latter vessel.
