Ever Given Owner Haggles Over Egypt’s $900m Release Demand

In this photo released by Suez Canal Authority, the Ever Given is pulled by one of the Suez Canal tugboats, in the Suez Canal, Egypt, Monday, March 29, 2021. (Suez Canal Authority via AP)
In this photo released by Suez Canal Authority, the Ever Given is pulled by one of the Suez Canal tugboats, in the Suez Canal, Egypt, Monday, March 29, 2021. (Suez Canal Authority via AP)
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Ever Given Owner Haggles Over Egypt’s $900m Release Demand

In this photo released by Suez Canal Authority, the Ever Given is pulled by one of the Suez Canal tugboats, in the Suez Canal, Egypt, Monday, March 29, 2021. (Suez Canal Authority via AP)
In this photo released by Suez Canal Authority, the Ever Given is pulled by one of the Suez Canal tugboats, in the Suez Canal, Egypt, Monday, March 29, 2021. (Suez Canal Authority via AP)

The Japanese owner of a megaship seized after blocking the Suez Canal has said it is negotiating with Egyptian authorities after they demanded $900 million in compensation for its release.

The 200,000-ton MV Ever Given got diagonally stuck in the narrow but crucial global trade artery in a sandstorm on March 23, triggering a mammoth six-day-long effort to dislodge it.

Maritime data company Lloyd's List said the blockage by the vessel, longer than four football fields, held up an estimated $9.6 billion-worth of cargo between Asia and Europe each day it was stuck.

Egypt also lost between $12 and $15 million in revenues for each day the waterway was closed, according to the canal authority.

The MV Ever Given was later seized "due to its failure to pay $900 million" compensation, Suez Canal Authority chief Osama Rabie was quoted as saying by local media.

Its fate is "now... in the legal arena," a spokeswoman for the ship's owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha told AFP Wednesday.

An unnamed spokesperson was also quoted by Japan's Jiji Press agency as saying the firm was "at odds with the canal authority in talks over the appropriate amount (of compensation)" but that discussions were ongoing.

The Japanese-owned, Taiwanese-operated and Panama-flagged ship was moved to unobstructive anchorage in the canal after it was freed on March 29, and tailbacks totaling 420 vessels at the northern and southern entrances to the canal were cleared in early April.

The compensation figure was calculated based on "the losses incurred by the grounded vessel as well as the flotation and maintenance costs" Rabie said, citing a ruling handed down by the Ismailia Economic Court in Egypt.

The grounding of the ship and the intensive salvage efforts are also reported to have resulted in significant damage to the canal.

The Suez Canal earned Egypt just over $5.7 billion in the 2019/20 fiscal year, according to official figures -- little changed from the $5.3 billion earned back in 2014.



Fuel Shortages in Gaza at 'Critical Levels', UN Warns

 A Palestinian burns plastic waste to produce alternative fuel amid scarcity as the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, in northern Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
A Palestinian burns plastic waste to produce alternative fuel amid scarcity as the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, in northern Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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Fuel Shortages in Gaza at 'Critical Levels', UN Warns

 A Palestinian burns plastic waste to produce alternative fuel amid scarcity as the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, in northern Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
A Palestinian burns plastic waste to produce alternative fuel amid scarcity as the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, in northern Gaza Strip, September 5, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

The United Nations warned Saturday that dire fuel shortages in the Gaza Strip had reached "critical levels", threatening to dramatically increase the suffering in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

"After almost two years of war, people in Gaza are facing extreme hardships, including widespread food insecurity, seven UN agencies cautioned in a joint statement.

"When fuel runs out, it places an unbearable new burden on a population teetering on the edge of starvation," the statement added.