After blocking the Suez Canal for nearly a week earlier this year, the Ever Given is set to be released from Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake area on July 7th
The Ever Given saga may actually coming to an end, as the container ship’s owners and insurers have announced that a settlement has been agreed on after months of dispute.
After blocking the Suez Canal for nearly a week earlier this year, the Ever Given is set to be released from Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake area, where it is currently anchored, on July 7th, according to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) in a statement on Sunday.
The vessel’s P&I insurer, the UK P&I Club released the following statement last week, “Following extensive discussions with the Suez Canal Authority’s negotiating committee over the past few weeks, an agreement in principle between the parties has been reached.”
Read More > Suez Canal/Ever Given Blockage and its possible Implications
According to the SCA, the settlement contract will be signed on Wednesday during the relaunch ceremony, with attendees able to watch the ship leave port.
Unnamed sources, cited by Al Arabiya a few days, have stated that the preliminary settlement was signed for $540 million.
Previously, the SCA had requested $1 billion in compensation for the expenses of using dredgers and tugboats in the refloating process as well, before lowering the number to $916 million and then $550 million.
Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., the owner, and the ship’s insurers initially offered $150 million.
The canal earned revenue of $3 billion in the first six months of 2021, up 8.8% compared with the same period last year, despite the Ever Given accident, said Osama Rabie, Chairman of Suez Canal Authority in a televised call last night.
According to the Central Bank of Egypt’s recent balance of payments figures, the canal’s revenues totaled at $1.45 billion, with expected revenues worth $6 billion by the end of 2021.
