Egypt seizes MV Ever Given at Great Bitter Lakes, demands nearly $1bn in compensation

The mammoth 1,300-foot container ship MV Ever Given that wedged slantways in Egypt’s key maritime navigational artery in the Suez Canal was dislodged by Salvors and set free on the sixth day, the mega tanker, however, has been seized by the Egyptian authorities and is not allowed to leave the anchorage of Great Bitter Lake. The reason—Egypt needs Panama flagged Ever Given to pay billions of dollars in compensation for blockage of the strategic global trade waterways that incurred the Mideast nation an estimated $95 million in transit fee, and a cumulative revenue loss of $16 million per day, according to the London based financial data firm, Refinitiv. 

Refusing to let go of the massive container ship, Egypt stressed that MV Ever Given has been commandeered as a probe is underway to establish whether the gush of winds or either the mechanical or technical snag had lodged the 400-meter-long (1,312-foot) gigantic ship in the canal. Ever Given, owned by Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, was bound for the Netherlands loaded with almost 220,000 tons of goods and was traversing from China. In Egypt's Suez Canal, the vessel ran aground and halted the world’s supply of goods cargoes, and oil tankers causing a massive backlog and trade loss worth billions. The head of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) in a live interview with state TV has said that the Ever Given container ship, which ran aground in the waterway for almost a week, will not be allowed to sail until it paid the compensation.  

"The vessel will remain here until investigation is complete and amount is paid by the ship to the Egyptian authorities in compensation,” SCA head Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, said in a Television interview."We hope for a speedy agreement. The minute they agree to pay compensation, the vessel will be allowed to move,” Rabie further added. 

Suez Canal Authority’s chief said that the SCA estimates that the stranded ship cost the authorities $1 billion. He stressed that the SCA chairman is now seeking compensation to pay for massive losses due to the Ever Given incident. He, however, did not reveal the cost for deployment of two dredgers, a dozen tugs, tugboats, a professional Salvor team to dislodge the vessel, wages of workers, and the loss registered by cargoes in backlog with Egyptian authorities. Rabie continued, the authorities suspected a “technical glitch” may have caused the incident, adding that the MV Ever Given “did not follow orders” without disclosing more information.

New CSD dredger in fleet

Considering the number of days it had taken for Egypt to free the stranded Ever Given which took more days for the massive backlog to clear, finally allowing the critical goods vessels in anchorages to transit, Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) on Monday added a new cutter suction dredger (CSD) to its fleet. The new dredger is considered "an unprecedented addition to the authority's dredgers fleet," SCA Chairman Osama Rabie told local press in Islamilia province, adding that the dredger will be a quantum leap in the SCA's capabilities in carrying out dredging works at Suez Canal. 

(Image Credit: AP)