Early agreement reached in dispute over Suez Canal ship
24 June, 2021
The owners and insurers of the giant container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week earlier this season reach an agreement in principle over their dispute with canal authorities, representatives from both sides said Wednesday.
Stann Marine, the legal representatives representing the vessel’s owners and insurers, and the Suez Canal Authority both confirmed the development.
The disagreement centers on the compensation amount the Suez Canal Authority is claiming for the salvage of the vessel Ever Given, which ran aground in March, blocking the key waterway for six days. Specialist tugboats and dredgers eventually freed the 400-meter-long (quarter-mile-long) cargo ship carrying some $3.5 billion in cargo.
In an on-air telephone call to Egyptian talk show “Al-Hiyat Al-Youm” on Wednesday the top of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority, Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, said the parties had decided on a compensation amount. But he said it could not be produced public because they had signed a non-disclosure agreement before signing of the ultimate contract.
The amount of money would cover the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic, and lost transit charges for the week the Ever Given blocked the canal.
Initially, the Suez Canal Authority demanded $916 million in compensation, that was later lowered to $550 million.
Since it was freed, the Panama-flagged, Japanese-owned vessel, which carries cargo between Asia and Europe, has been ordered by authorities to stay in a holding lake mid-canal, along with almost all of its crew, as its owner and the canal authority make an effort to settle the compensation dispute.
In a statement, the UK Club, one insurer for the ship's owners, japan company Shoei Kisen, said it really is dealing with other insurers and the canal authority to sign your final agreement “as soon as possible."
“Once the formalities have already been handled, arrangements for the release of the vessel will be produced,” the statement said.
The two sides have traded blame for the vessel’s grounding, with inclement weather, poor decisions on the part of canal authorities, and human and technical error all being thrown out as possible factors.
On Sunday, the Ismailia Economic Court adjourned a hearing on the case following the Suez Canal’s attorneys said they were looking into a fresh offer created by the vessel’s owners. Lawyers didn't share any details of the offer.
The six-day blockage disrupted global shipping. A huge selection of ships waited set up for the canal to be unblocked, while some ships were forced to take the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa’s southern tip, requiring additional fuel and other costs.
About 10% of world trade flows through the canal, a pivotal source of forex to Egypt. Some 19,000 vessels passed through the canal last year, according to official figures.
Source: japantoday.com
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