Egyptian authorities seized the Ever Given cargo ship seized in the Suez Canal for several days last month and ordered the ship’s owner to pay $ 900 million in compensation.
CNN reports that Egyptian authorities have ordered the owner of Ever Given, the Japanese charter company Shoei Kisen Kaisha, to pay the hefty bill for losses caused by the traffic stop caused by the ship. The bill also includes maintenance fees and rescue action costs, according to the Egyptian state-run news agency Al Ahram.
Shoei Kisen Kaisha responded by saying insurance companies and lawyers were handling compensation complaints and declined to comment further, CNN reported.
The Ever Given was successfully lifted on March 29 after almost a week of stalemate. The ship prevented more than 450 other vessels from moving through the canal. The Suez Canal was reopened on April 3.
Shortly after the ship was liberated, Lieutenant General Ossama Rabei of the Suez Canal Authority allegedly said that Egypt could ask for up to $ 1 billion in compensation to cover lost transit fees, as well as the cost of the tugs used to to dislodge the boat.
“This is the law of the land,” Rabei apparently said at the time. “She should get it right.”
CNN reports that UK Club, one of the ship insurers, has questioned the basis of Egypt’s demand.
“Despite the largely unsupported extent of the claim, the owners and their insurers negotiated in good faith with the SCA. On April 12, a careful consideration and ample offer was made to the SCA to settle their claim. , “said UK Club. said in response to the claim of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).
Ever Given technical manager Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) said the ship would sail to Port Said on the Mediterranean before being detained, according to CNN.
“The SCA’s decision to arrest the vessel is extremely disappointing,” BSM CEO Ian Beveridge was quoted as saying by CNN. ‘From the outset, BSM and the crew on board have fully cooperated with all authorities, including the SCA and their respective investigations into the grounding … BSM’s primary goal is a speedy solution in this matter that will leave the vessel and crew departure. the Suez Canal. ‘