A ship that blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week in
March is being held in the waterway as canal authorities pursue a $916 million
compensation claim against the ship’s Japanese owner, one of the vessel’s
insurers and canal sources said on Tuesday.
The Ever Given container ship, owned by Shoei Kisen, has
been in a lake separating two sections of the canal since it was dislodged on
March 29, as the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) conducts investigations.
Two SCA sources, who declined to be named, told Reuters a
court order had been issued for the ship to be held. Negotiations over the
compensation claim were still taking place, according to one of the sources.
UK Club, the protection & indemnity (P&I) insurer
for the Ever Given, said the canal’s claim included $300 million for a “salvage
bonus” and $300 million for “loss of reputation.”
“Despite the magnitude of the claim, which was largely
unsupported, the owners and their insurers have been negotiating in good faith
with the SCA,” UK Club said in a statement.
“On 12 April, a carefully considered and generous offer was
made to the SCA to settle their claim. We are disappointed by the SCA’s
subsequent decision to arrest the vessel today.”
Earlier on Tuesday Yumi Shinohara, deputy manager with owner
Shoei Kisen’s fleet management department, confirmed that the canal had made a
compensation claim and that the ship had not been given clearance to leave, but
gave no further details.
The decision to hold the ship could impact its cargo, said
Jai Sharma, a lawyer at Clyde & Co. “I anticipate that there will be
companies that are going to air freight cargo replacements,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from the SCA, but the
authority’s chairman Osama Rabie said on Egyptian TV last week that the Ever
Given would not leave until the investigation was finished and compensation
paid.
He said the canal had borne “great moral damage” as well as
shipping fee losses and salvage operation costs. He has also said he hoped to
settle matters amicably.
Results of the SCA’s investigation were expected by the end
of the week, according to SCA sources.
International supply chains were thrown into disarray when
the 400-meter (430 yard) Ever Given ran aground in the canal on March 23, with
18,300 containers on board.
Specialist rescue teams took six days to free the vessel,
delaying the passage of more than 400 ships and causing others to divert around
Africa.
Industry sources told Reuters last week that reinsurers were
set to foot most of the bill for the ship’s grounding.
Asked about the SCA’s claim, Sharma said: “It would seem
surprising that the claim could be quantified so quickly with any accuracy.”