Suez Canal: An “initial” agreement on compensation after being blocked by Ever Given (SCA)

Cairo | An “initial” agreement on compensation was reached between Egypt and the owner of the container ship Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal in late March, a key sea route for international trade, the authority said. Canal (SCA).

“We came to a preliminary agreement after serious negotiations between the ship’s executives, owners and insurance companies,” Osama Robbie told the DMC in a television interview Wednesday evening.

According to an Egyptian official, the two parties are now giving the “final touches” to the deal, which could be signed “in the middle of next week”.

With a capacity of more than 200,000 tons, Evergreen rushed on March 23, blocking traffic on the canal, which accounts for about 10% of world maritime trade, experts said.

The blockade lasted for six days. According to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), Egypt lost between 12 million (8 9.8 million) and 15 million (.52.5 million) on the closing day.

The UK Club, one of the insurance companies, also said in a statement that an agreement had been reached “in principle” between the parties.

“We are now working with SCA to finalize the signed agreement with the ship’s owner and his other insurance companies as soon as possible,” the statement said, adding that signing the agreement should lead to the ship’s release, officials said. Egypt from March.

The UK club has ever insured the owner of some of the losses. The ship and its cargo are insured separately.

However, no information on the amount of compensation was disclosed, and Mr. Robbie stated that the parties agreed not to disclose anything before actually signing the contract.

Initially, Cairo claimed $ 916 million (7 767 million), reducing this amount to $ 600 and then $ 550 million (1 461 million).

A total of 422 ships loaded with 26 million tonnes of cargo were stranded in March.