The court of Ismailia, in Egypt, yesterday authorized the seizure of the container ship Ever Given, which on March 23 last stopped in the Suez Canal, paralyzing commercial traffic for almost a week. The canal authority has demanded compensation from the ship owners of nearly a billion dollars, an indemnity that the company has refused to pay to date. The Ever Given is still stationary in the Suez Canal moored within the Bitter Lakes, basins located about halfway between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.
The court decision
The authority of the channel turned to the court complaining that the traffic block has caused a loss of about 15 million dollars a day in missed rights of way; in addition, there are the costs incurred for dredging and grounding the 400-meter-long container ship; the latter, put sideways by the strong wind, had completely blocked the passage of other ships and had ended up slipping its prow into a sand bank. According to the Bloomberg agency, the consequences of the accident are still being felt today on planetary maritime traffic with slowdowns in departures in the ports of Singapore and Rotterdam.
The details of the request
The news of the claim for damages was also confirmed by the English company P&I, insurance company of Ever Given; in detail, the request amounts to 916 million dollars. On April 12, an offer was made to the Suez Canal Company to close the dispute. We are sorry for the resulting decision to impound the ship. However, the ship owner did not comment on the request, only letting it be known that negotiations are still underway with the Suez authorities. Egypt reiterated that the ship will remain stationary until the compensation is paid; even the crew is currently stuck on board. According to specialized agencies, the figure of 916 million includes lost revenue from rights of way, expenses incurred for rescuing the ship and even 300 million due to damage to image.
April 14, 2021 (change April 14, 2021 | 11:20)
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