Suez Canal: an amicable agreement found to release the ship "Ever Given"
According to knowledgeable sources, the Ever Given out-of-court settlement involves the payment of $ 240 million to the canal authority before the container ship sets sail.
- Satellite image © 2021 Maxar Technologies / AFP / File
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The giant container ship which blocked the Suez Canal for a week in March will be able to leave on Wednesday July 7 after being seized while awaiting payment of damages.
An amicable agreement was indeed found between the authority of the Suez Canal and the owners of
Ever Given
, the Japanese company Shoei Kisen Kaisha.
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The container ship
Ever Given
, detained since the end of March in Egypt after blocking the Suez Canal, will be released on Wednesday under the terms of a compensation agreement between the owner and the Egyptian authorities announced on Sunday.
It was the owners of
Ever Given
who announced the news without giving further details, reports our correspondent in Cairo,
Alexandre Buccianti
.
But the information was implicitly confirmed by the Suez Canal Authority who invited several media outlets to come to Ismailia to attend an event.
Asked about the nature of the event, the canal's press service unofficially replied that it was the departure of the
Ever Given
from Grand Lac Amer.
According to informed sources, the out-of-court settlement involves the payment of $ 240 million to the canal authority before
Ever Given
sets sail.
$ 300 million will then be paid in one-year drafts.
$ 550 million to pay
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) had started by claiming 900 million dollars before gradually reducing the damages to 550 million (approximately 463 million euros).
The
Ever Given
carries merchandise estimated to be worth nearly $ 2 billion.
With a capacity of over 200,000 tonnes, the Ever Given ran aground on March 23, blocking traffic on the canal where nearly 10% of world maritime trade passes.
The giant vessel, flying the Panamanian flag and operated by the Taiwanese owner Evergreen Marine Corporation, had recessed its bow in the east shore.
The clearance operations, which lasted six days, required more than ten tugs, as well as dredges to dig the bottom of the canal, an operation complicated by the rocky nature of the terrain.
A total of 422 ships, loaded with 26 million tonnes of cargo, were stranded for six days.
And an SCA employee died during the refloating of the ship.
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