Discussions between Egypt and the owners of the giant container ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal are moving in a “positive direction,” a canal official said Sunday, as the two sides work to avoid a continued stand-off in court.
Tokyo-based Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., the owner of the Ever Given, “showed good intentions and appreciation to the Egyptian role” in rescuing the ship, Khaled Abu Bakr, the Suez Canal Authority chairman’s adviser told reporters in the city of Ismailia.
“I think that in the coming days or week, we might witness developments with regard to direct negotiations,” Abu Bakr said.
The comments come a day after an Egyptian court postponed a scheduled hearing to give the two sides time to reach a settlement to a case in which the SCA had initially sought compensation of $916 million.
The Panamanian-flagged vessel is currently being held in the Great Bitter Lake, and is barred from leaving by court order. The Ever Given was stuck in the vital waterway for nearly a week in March, forcing its closure and roiling shipping markets.
The two sides have been haggling over the compensation since the Ever Given was re-floated. The SCA has lowered the amount it’s seeking to $550 million — a figure that the vessel’s insurers say is still too high.
The authority will present a revised calculation for the cost of rescuing the ship during the next court session on June 20, Nabil Zidan, the attorney representing the SCA, told reporters Sunday.
