Agree On Compensation With Suez Canal Authority, Container Ship "Ever Given" Will Be Released

Container Ship "Ever Given". (Wikimedia Commons/Robert Schwemmer for NOAA's National Ocean Service)

JAKARTA - The owner and insurance company of the giant container ship Ever Given, which ran aground in Egypt's Suez Canal in March, said it had reached a formal settlement agreement on compensation with the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and may be allowed to sail on July 7 the day after.

The SCA has been holding the giant container ship Ever Giver and its crew and cargo in a lake between two stretches of the canal since it managed to float back on March 29, amid a dispute over a compensation request by SCA.

The Japanese container ship Ever Given was caught in strong winds and ran aground in the Suez Canal for six days in March, causing queues of ships on the vital canal, affecting global trade.

"Preparations for the ship's release will be made and an event marking the deal will be held at the Authority's headquarters in Ismailia, Egypt in due course," Faz Peermohamed of Stann Marine, who represents owner Shoei Kisen and his insurance company, said in a statement.

The SCA said the settlement contract would be signed Wednesday at a ceremony, and that participants would be able to watch the ship depart. Stann Marine did not provide details of the settlement.

Meanwhile, SCA Chairman Osama Rabie said the Suez Canal would receive tugs with a towing capacity of around 75 tonnes as part of the completion, without mentioning other details.

"We maintain full authority rights, maintain our relationship with companies and also political relations with Japan," he told a private TV channel on Sunday evening local time.

Earlier on Sunday, an Egyptian court postponed hearings in the compensation dispute until July 11 to allow the canal and shipowners to finalize a settlement, a court source and a lawyer said.

Separately, the Suez Canal generated US$3 billion in revenue in the first six months of 2021, up 8.8 percent from the same period last year, despite accidents, Rabie said.

To note, SCA filed a claim of 916 million US dollars or approximately 13.3 trillion rupiah in compensation to cover rescue efforts, reputational damage, and loss of revenue, before publicly lowering the request to 550 million US dollars or around Rp7,993,150,000,000.

Meanwhile, Shoei Kisen and the ship's insurance company have disputed the ship's claims and detention under an Egyptian court order.