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Egypt seizes “Ever Given” and demands $ 900 million in compensation

Compensation of more than 900 million dollars for its exclusion Suez Canal at the end of March from “Ever Given”, which caused the blockade of this sea route, Egypt demands. At the same time, the country seized the giant container ship, as reported today by the newspaper Al-Ahram and one of the ship’s insurance companies.

Last night, the head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) spoke on state television about “negotiations” being held for payment compensation for the damage caused when “Ever Given” ran aground for almost a week in the Canal, paralyzing traffic on this crucial sea crossing.

Egypt made “no mistake” in the incident, he said, blaming the ship’s captains. For his part, Admiral Osama Rabia said that “negotiations are continuing, there are still many points (disagreements) with the company and the insurance company.”

A SCA source, quoted by the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency, confirmed to the French Agency the negotiations with the Japanese ship-owning company, Shoei Kisen, and insurance companies.

One of the insurance companies of “Ever Given” also stressed today that Cairo sues Shoei Kisen for $ 916 million in damages.

The UK Club, the insurance company that offers protection and compensation (P&I) coverage at Ever Given, said in a statement that it was disappointing that the ship and its crew were being held in the Canal until compensation was paid.

Speaking to Al-Ahram, the admiral said his country was seeking compensation at that level. “The Panamanian-flagged ship, Ever Given, was seized for non-payment of $ 900 million (approximately 750 million euros), based on a ruling by an Ismaili court,” Rabia said.

The amount corresponds, according to the same source, to “losses caused by the ship to the Authority, except for the towing and maintenance operations”.

Traffic on the Canal, which handles more than 10% of world trade, resumed on March 29th after the ship was towed with the help of international experts. More than 400 ships were stranded north and south of the Canal for six days, creating a huge congestion.

According to the SCA, Egypt recorded losses of between $ 12 million and $ 15 million a day while the canal remained closed. One of the country’s main sources of revenue, this passage brought about $ 5.7 billion to Cairo in 2019-2020.

According to insurance company Allianz, each day of downtime resulted in a total loss of six to $ 10 billion.

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