Court Allows Suez Canal to Keep Holding ‘Ever Given’

Ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, is seen after it was fully floated in Suez Canal, Egypt March 29, 2021. (Reuters)
Ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, is seen after it was fully floated in Suez Canal, Egypt March 29, 2021. (Reuters)
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Court Allows Suez Canal to Keep Holding ‘Ever Given’

Ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, is seen after it was fully floated in Suez Canal, Egypt March 29, 2021. (Reuters)
Ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, is seen after it was fully floated in Suez Canal, Egypt March 29, 2021. (Reuters)

An Egyptian court on Sunday rejected an appeal by the Japanese owner of the Ever Given container ship against the vessel’s detention in the Suez Canal.

The Ever Given ran aground on March 23 in high winds and remained lodged across the canal for a week.

The complaint was attached to a case at the economic court in Ismailia in which the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) sought $916 million in compensation from Ever Given's owner Shoei Kisen.

The Ismailia court on Sunday referred the case back to a court of first instance, which is due to consider it on May 29, said Ahmed Abu Ali, one of the lawyers representing the owner.

Any ruling made by the lower court could trigger appeals, said another lawyer, Ahmed Abu Shanab, indicating that legal wrangling could drag on.

In a statement following Sunday’s ruling the SCA said it bore no responsibility for the Ever Given’s grounding, reasserting that responsibility lay with the ship’s captain alone.

In another context, the acquisition of the 51 percent stake, approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, will be finalized in the third quarter, CEO Karim Awad told Reuters.

“Our share in the bank will be financed through the liquidity available to the company on its own. We have lots of liquidity,” Awad told Reuters, adding that EFG Hermes began working to fulfill all government conditions and approvals as soon as the cabinet approved the deal.

The Sovereign Fund of Egypt will also buy new shares worth 1.25 billion pounds, increasing AIB’s capital to 5 billion pounds, while the current owner, state-owned National Bank of Egypt, will retain a 24 percent stake.

“We are not entering the banking sector to compete with the big banks operating in Egypt,” Awad said.

“Rather, we are seeking to find a portion of the market to focus on to provide services to help it grow.”

He added that the new owners would retain all of AIB’s current employees but would study a possible change in the bank’s name.



Israeli Troops Deploy to New Corridor Across Southern Gaza

Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Israeli Troops Deploy to New Corridor Across Southern Gaza

Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israel said Saturday that troops have deployed to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza to pressure the Hamas militant group.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced the new Morag Corridor and suggested it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of Gaza.
A military statement Saturday said troops with the 36th Division had been deployed in the corridor. It was not immediately clear how many had deployed or where exactly the corridor was located, The Associated Press reported. Morag is the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, and Netanyahu suggested it would run between the cities.
Maps published by Israeli media showed the new corridor running the width of the narrow coastal strip from east to west.
Netanyahu said it would be “a second Philadelphi corridor,” referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May.
Israel has also reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the strip. The Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
“We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said Wednesday.
The latest announcement came shortly after a White House official confirmed that Netanyahu on Monday would again meet with President Donald Trump, their second meeting at the White House since Trump took office in January.
Last month, Israel shattered the ceasefire in Gaza with a surprise bombardment after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the truce that had taken hold in January. The White House supported Israel's move.
Netanyahu’s defense minister said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones.
Israel has pledged to escalate the war with Hamas until the militant group returns the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, disarms and leaves the territory.
Israel last month again halted all supplies of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza.