Egypt has confiscated the Ever Ever, the massive container ship that blocked the Suez Canal and disrupted world trade for days, while officials negotiate a heavy compensation payment with the ship’s owner, according to reports.
An Egyptian court has allowed the Suez Canal Authority to seize the ship until the Japanese company that owns the ship forks more than $ 900 million for last month’s traffic jam, the state newspaper reported on Tuesday. Al-Ahram.
That amount explains the cost of moving the 400-meter-long boat after it ran aground along with the costs of losing traffic rates and stopping traffic that accumulated during the six-day blockade, according to Associated Press.
Boat leasing firm Shoei Kisen Kaisha is discussing 90 percent of that amount in negotiations with Egyptian officials, Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, told local media.
“They don’t want to pay anything,” Rabie told a state television network Monday.
He also said the channel had suffered “major moral damage” in addition to the financial costs of the debacle.
Shoei Kisen told the media that the Ever Ever had been confiscated and the channel had claimed compensation, but said negotiations were ongoing.
“They are still talking to us. Therefore, we will continue negotiations on compensation, “company spokesman Ryu Murakoshi told The Wall Street Journal.
Rabie previously estimated that Egypt lost about $ 1 billion as a result of the snafu that stopped hundreds of ships and kept goods worth billions of dollars.
The Ever Give, which was carrying more than $ 3.5 billion in cargo when it ran aground on March 23, is now sitting in the bitter lakes near the canal’s south terminal as officials investigate the incident, according to Al-Ahram.
Crews managed to release Ever Ever on March 29 after shipments of animals, consumer goods and even sex toys were caught in the test.
Shoei Kisen has apologized for the mess. But Evergreen Marine Corp., the Taiwanese company that rented the Ever Give and whose name was attached to the hull of the ship, apparently did not expect to pay the bill and denied responsibility for the delays in the cargo it was carrying.
With publishing cables