Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Osama Rabie said he hoped talks would soon yield an agreement with the owner and insurer of a giant container ship, which is still being detained since it blocked the waterway for six days last month.
“The SCA is dealing with all the specific requirements of the negotiation with complete flexibility, in full respect for international norms in these sorts of situations,” Rabie affirmed on Monday.
The 400-meter MV Ever Given became wedged diagonally across the canal in high winds on March 23, holding up passage of more than 400 vessels.
The 200,000-ton cargo vessel has been anchored in a lake between two sections of the canal since being dislodged on March 29.
It is caught in a legal dispute linked to a $916 million compensation claim made by the SCA against the ship’s Japanese owner.
Only two crew members aboard were allowed to return to India owing to urgent personal circumstances.
Rabie ruled out rumors that the crew are detained, noting that they were free to leave or be replaced as long as the captain stays on board as the guardian of the vessel and its cargo.
The ship’s protection and indemnity insurer UK Club and its technical manager Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) have said they are disappointed that the ship is being held.
UK Club has filed an appeal at an Egyptian court against its detention, citing a lack of supporting evidence for the SCA’s claim.
.png?w=600)
