Egypt could claim up to $1 billion in resarsing after container ever given blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week, causing serious consequences on intercontinental maritime traffic. The highest authority of the canal warned that the vessel and its cargo will not be able to leave the country in the event that the matter reaches court. Lieutenant General Ossama Rabei, head of the channel authority, detailed that the figure includes the cost of the rescue operation, the stopping of traffic and lost traffic quotas for the week the ship blocked the passage in the Suez Canal.
The ship was stranded diagonally in the Suez Canal for almost a week, which caused the blockade of one of the world’s major trade sea routes.
“It is the law of the country,”” Rabei argued, not specifying who would be responsible for the payment of compensation. He added that prior to the incident, the canal authorities and the ship’s owners were in a good relationship. The huge freighter is currently located in one of the canal lakes, while an investigation into the ranway is underway. On Thursday, Ever Given technical manager Bernard Schulte Shipmanagement told The Associated Press that the ship’s crew was cooperating with authorities in his investigation about what led him to head. He explained that researchers from the Suez Canal Authority were given access to the Crossing Data Logger, also known as the ship’s black box. Rabei indicated that if the research was carried out smoothly and agreement was reached on the amount of compensation, the freighter would be able to resume his journey without problems. However, he warned that if the matter is going to be disputed, then the situation will be different: Ever Given and its cargo, valued at about $3.5 billion, will not be able to leave Egypt.The litigation could be complex, since the ship is owned by a Japanese company, operated by a Taiwanese carrier and is of Panamanian flag. Last Monday, a fleet of tugboats took advantage of the high tide and managed to pluck the bulging bow of Ever Given, which is the size of a skyscraper, from the sandy shore of the canal, where it had been firmly stuck a week earlier. The obstruction created a massive jam in this vital step. As a result, $9 billion a day was halted in world trade, straining supply chains already loaded by the coronavirus pandemic.
