New Compensation Offer Made over Suez Canal Blockage

A view shows the Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken on March 29, 2021. 2021 Maxar Technologies / Handout via REUTERS
A view shows the Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken on March 29, 2021. 2021 Maxar Technologies / Handout via REUTERS
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New Compensation Offer Made over Suez Canal Blockage

A view shows the Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken on March 29, 2021. 2021 Maxar Technologies / Handout via REUTERS
A view shows the Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken on March 29, 2021. 2021 Maxar Technologies / Handout via REUTERS

The owners of a giant container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March have made a new offer in a compensation dispute with the canal authority, a lawyer for the authority said on Sunday.

The Ever Given container ship has been anchored in a lake between two stretches of the canal since it was dislodged on March 29. It had been grounded across the canal for six days, blocking hundreds of ships and disrupting global trade.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) demanded $916 million in compensation to cover salvage efforts, reputational damage and lost revenue, before publicly lowering the request to $550 million.

The Ever Given's Japanese owners Shoei Kisen and its insurers have disputed the claim and the ship's detention under an Egyptian court order.

Negotiations had been continuing until Saturday, SCA lawyer Khaled Abu Bakr told a court hearing in Ismailia over the ship's detention, according to Reuters.

The ship's owners had put in a new offer, he said, without giving details. The SCA's chairman previously said Shoei Kisen had offered to pay $150 million.

The court had been due to rule on the case on Sunday but Shoei Kisen's legal team asked for a postponement to allow more time for negotiations, one of their lawyers said.

This week UK Club, one of the ship's insurers, said it was engaged in "serious and constructive negotiations" with the SCA, and was "hopeful of a positive resolution to these negotiations in the near future".



Sudan's Military Accepts UN Proposal of a Weeklong Ceasefire in El Fasher for Aid Distribution

The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
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Sudan's Military Accepts UN Proposal of a Weeklong Ceasefire in El Fasher for Aid Distribution

The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)

Sudan's military agreed to a proposal from the United Nations for a weeklong ceasefire in El Fasher to facilitate UN aid efforts to the area, the army said Friday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called Sudanese military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and asked him for the humanitarian truce in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, to allow aid delivery.

Burhan agreed to the proposal and stressed the importance of implementing relevant UN Security Council resolutions, but it’s unknown whether the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces would agree and comply with the ceasefire.

“We are making contacts with both sides with that objective, and that was the fundamental reason for that phone contact. We have a dramatic situation in El Fasher,” Guterres told reporters on Friday.

No further details were revealed about the specifics of the ceasefire, including when it could go into effect.

Sudan plunged into war in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and the rival RSF escalated into battles in the capital, Khartoum, and spread across the country, killing more than 20,000 people.

The war has also driven more than 14 million people from their homes and pushed parts of the country into famine. UNICEF said earlier this year that an estimated 61,800 children have been internally displaced since the war began.

Guterres said on Friday that a humanitarian truce is needed for effective aid distribution, and it must be agreed upon several days in advance to prepare for a large-scale delivery in the El Fasher area, which has seen repeated waves of violence recently.

El Fasher, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) southwest of Khartoum, is under the control of the military. The RSF has been trying to capture El Fasher for a year to solidify its control over the entire Darfur region. The paramilitary’s attempts included launching repeated attacks on the city and two major famine-stricken displacement camps on its outskirts.