Suez Canal: Egypt expects US$1 billion in damages after Ever Given finally removed, says ship may have to remain in country
- Top canal official warns that the cargo vessel will not be allowed to leave the country if the issue goes to court
- The amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled traffic and lost transit fees for the week that the Ever Given had blocked the Suez Canal
Egypt is expecting more than US$1 billion in compensation after a cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week, according to the top canal official. He also warned the ship and its cargo will not be allowed to leave Egypt if the issue of damages goes to court.
Lieutenant General Ossama Rabei, head of the canal authority, said in a phone interview with a pro-government television talk show on Wednesday that the amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled traffic and lost transit fees for the week that the Ever Given had blocked the Suez Canal.
“It’s the country’s right,” Rabei said, without specifying who would be responsible for paying the compensation. He added that in the past, canal authorities and the ship’s owners have had a good relationship.
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The massive cargo ship is currently in one of the canal’s holding lakes, where authorities and the ship’s managers say an investigation is ongoing.
On Thursday, the ship’s technical managers, Bernard Schulte Shipmanagement, said in an email that the ship’s crew was cooperating with authorities in their investigation into what led to the vessel running aground.
They said that Suez Canal Authority investigators have been given access to the Voyage Data Recorder, also known as a vessel’s black box.
Rabei also said that if an investigation went smoothly and the compensation amount was agreed on, then the ship could travel on without problems.