Insurer of ship that blocked Suez Canal says reduced claim still high
10/05/2021 14:40
CAIRO, May 10 (Reuters) - UK Club, an insurer of the
container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March, said on
Monday a reduced compensation claim made by the Egyptian
authorities for almost $600 million to free the vessel and cover
related losses was still "exceptionally large".
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) adjusted its claim from an
initial $916 million in an effort to settle out of court, SCA
head Osama Rabie told private TV network MBC Masr on Saturday.
The Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships,
was jammed across the canal for six days from March 23, stopping
traffic in both directions.
The vessel, still loaded with thousands of containers, is
being held in a lake between two stretches of the canal amid the
dispute about the level of compensation SCA has claimed from the
Japanese owner Shoei Kisen.
Rabie said on Saturday there was no immediate prospect of a
settlement. "We haven't seen any response from their side so
far, so we are moving forward with the issue, as we were, in the
court," he said.
UK Club said the reduced amount proposed had not been
reflected in SCA's claim filed at court.
"The Ever Given's owners still have not been provided with
evidence that would support a claim of this size, which remains
exceptionally large. The Ever Given's interests continue to
negotiate in good faith with the SCA," it added.
An Egyptian economic court is due to hold a hearing on May
22 to consider the SCA claim for what it describes as losses due
to the blockage and costs for dislodging the ship, SCA sources
said.
An Egyptian investigation into the incident found no
wrongdoing by the SCA or its pilots, the sources said, without
elaborating.
One source said the court could authorise the SCA to auction
off the ship if the owner rejected any ruling to compensate the
canal authority. Rabie has also mentioned such an outcome.
An Egyptian court rejected an appeal by Shoei Kisen against
the Ever Given's detention earlier this month. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MR1BS
(Reporting by Jonathan Saul in London and Yousry Mohamed in
Ismailia; Writing by Mahmoud Mourad; Editing by Aidan Lewis and
Edmund Blair)
((mahmoud.mourad@thomsonreuters.com;))