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The driver of the excavator that helped free Ever Ever had to be paid, the bosses of the Suez Canal said.
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Abdullah Abdul-Gawad, a subcontractor, told Insider earlier that he was still waiting for overtime money.
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The Suez Canal Authority said it was paying, although Insider could not reach Abdul-Gawad’s direct employer.
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The excavator driver, who gained notoriety for his work detaching the massive Ever given container ship from the Suez Canal, must now have paid all his overtime, the Suez Canal Authority said.
The body, also called the SCA, issued a statement saying it believed Abdullah Abdul-Gawad got the extra money he had in the duel due to the grueling work of moving the ship.
Officials of the SCA, which is owned by the Egyptian government, praised his work as “above and beyond” his obligation.
The announcement, made on Facebook last week, comes after Insider interviewed Abdul-Gawad, who at the time said he had not yet received overtime pay. He spoke to Insider nine days after the ship was liberated.
Abdel-Gawad does not work for the SCA, but does work for a subcontractor. He told Insider at the time that he would expect his overtime pay at some point, but noted that it would come slowly.
Insider could not confirm with Abdul-Gawad’s employer whether he had now received his overtime. Abdul-Gawad declined to comment.
After the Ever Given was grounded on March 23 and completely blocked the Suez Canal, images of Abdul-Gawad’s digger trying to free it became world famous. In a world that watches, the face of Abdul-Gawad’s small excavation next to the colossal ship is attractive to memes.
But the actual working conditions he described painted a much more serious picture – he and his colleagues could only lay short sleep in a nearby hut and that he feared for his safety.
The ship was liberated on March 29 by the joint efforts of Abdul-Gawad’s excavations, multiple tugs, winches, a specialized dredger – and a super-tidal full tide.
The SCA took a victory round the same day in a statement in which its chief Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie congratulated SCA workers “who achieved this heroic feat and said they had done their patriotic duty impeccably,”
But Abdul-Gawad told Insider he feels overlooked in the triumph.
In the Facebook statement, published on April 13, the SCA urged Egyptians to “not pay attention to rumors and anonymous news” and asked people to rely only on “official sources”.
It adds: “We confirm that the employee has received all his salaries / fees from his employer, in addition to a bonus in recognition of his service in addition to.”
The Ever Given remains in the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal, where it is impounded amid major legal action taken by the Egyptian government against the ship’s owners.
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