Egypt seizes ship that got stuck in Suez Canal, says owner owes $900 million
This ship has not sailed.
Egyptian authorities seized the Ever Given on Monday, saying the ship’s owner owes $900 million for its week-long blockage of the Suez Canal.
Egypt calculated the figure shortly after the ship was freed from its sandy trap on March 29, and an Egyptian court approved the order earlier this week. But Shoei Kisen Kaisha, the Japanese company that owns the boat, has argued it should owe less, the Associated Press reported.
The 1,300-foot vessel, which is operated by Taiwanese company Evergreen Group and sails under the Panamanian flag, currently sits in Great Bitter Lake, a midway point in the Suez, according to Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram. The ship’s 25-person crew and all its cargo, valued at $3.5 billion, remain on board.
The seizure of the ship came after Shoei Kisen Kaisha responded to Egypt’s $900 million demand with a counteroffer, Al-Ahram reported. The chairman of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, said the shipowners “do not want to pay anything.”
Shoei Kisen Kaisha’s insurance group, UK Club, did not reveal the details of the company’s offer.
The Ever Given single-handedly stopped traffic in the entire canal from March 23-29 while sitting sideways at its narrowest point. Observers suspect it was sideswiped by a sandstorm and a windstorm, but an official Egyptian investigation remains ongoing.
