Egypt seizes Ever Given ship over $900 million Suez Canal compensation bill

(Karachi) Egyptian authorities have seized the Ever Given demanding the ship's owners pay more than $900 million for blocking the Suez Canal for several days, local media reported. The bill also includes maintenance fees and the costs of the rescue operation.

As per details, the move comes after an Egyptian court ordered the vessel's Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha, to pay $916 million in compensation as a result of losses inflicted when the Panamanian-flagged Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal and prevented marine traffic from transiting through the vital global trade waterway.

Kaisha said insurance companies and lawyers are working on the compensation claim.

Meanwhile, UK Club, the protection and indemnity insurer for the Ever Given, said that they had responded to the claim from the Suez Canal Authority. "Despite the magnitude of the claim which was largely unsupported, the owners and their insurers have been negotiating in good faith with the SCA," it added.

On 12 April, a carefully considered and generous offer was made to the SCA to settle their claim," the statement said.

UK Club says it is the insurer of the Ever Given for certain third-party liabilities including obstruction claims or infrastructure issues but is not the insurer for the vessel itself or the cargo.

"The SCA has not provided a detailed justification for this extraordinarily large claim, which includes a $300 million claim for a salvage bonus and a $300 million claim for loss of reputation," the UK Club stated.

However, the Suez Canal authorities say they have impounded the ship's cargo until the dispute is resolved.

Last month, the 400-meter-long Ever Given gigantic container blocked one of the canal's main arteries leading up to massive maritime traffic and affecting international trade that uses the waterway.

Due to the blockage of the canal, more than 300 other ships were stranded. The Suz Canal Authority maintained that 9,000 tons of water was removed to lighten the ship and large quantities of sand were dredged from around it.