Accepting a request from the Suez Canal Authority (Sca) asking for compensation of $ 900 million, an Egyptian court authorized the seizure of the container ship that blocked the strategic waterway last month. The Bloomberg website writes it citing local media including Ahram Gate.
The court that accepted the request for the seizure of the “Ever Given” is that of the city of Ismailia. The move highlights the legal complications following the ship’s stranding on March 23, which led to the closure of the canal for almost a week and a strong disruption of maritime traffic between Asia and Europe: according to data provider “Project44”, traffic jams in large ports such as Singapore and Rotterdam will also continue in the coming weeks.
Sca said compensation is needed to cover losses caused by missed transit fees, damage to the canal during dredging and towing of the giant container ship, and cost of the equipment and labor employed.
The Authority has calculated that it has lost about $ 15 million in transit fees per day. A spokesperson for Ever Given’s owner, Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., declined to comment on the compensation claim as talks are ongoing with Sca. The company stated that the crew is still on board the ship, which is now in the “Great Bitter Lake”, a reservoir about halfway along the channel, Bloomberg reports.