Phase one of the salvage of grounded Evergreen Line container ship has failed, so salvors are embarking on what the liner operator described as the “next phase” of the effort.

That involves unloading containers from a vessel that is too firmly wedged in the Chesapeake Bay silt to move after running aground in silt on 13 March.

“Salvage experts have determined they would not be able to refloat the Ever Forward in its current loaded condition,” the Taiwanese liner operator told customers.