CAIRO – Egypt seized the container ship that blocked the Suez Canal last month, the owner of the vessel said Tuesday amid a dispute over how much compensation the country owes after the weekly waterway shutdown.
The move puts pressure on Japanese owner Ever Given to negotiate a settlement that Egyptian authorities say should cost about $ 1 billion in canal damage and lost property, while the vessel is a critical artery for world trade. block.
The ship owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. said the driver of the waterway seized the Ever Given after receiving an order from an Egyptian court and comparing the move to an arrest. “They are still talking to us. So we will continue to negotiate compensation, ”said Ryu Murakoshi, a spokesman for the company. He did not want to disclose the amount under discussion.
Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, told state-run television he was demanding payment for the cost of the rescue operation, damage to the canal bank and lost revenue. According to the court order for the seizure, the owners of the ship failed to pay $ 900 million, according to Egyptian state media.
“They do not want to pay anything,” he said. Rabie said about the Japanese owners. He repeatedly denied Egypt’s responsibility for the crash.