The company’s main business is to promote the development of the company’s products and services.
The company’s main business is to promote the development of the company’s products and services. (Photo/reproduced from Suez Canal Authority)
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie said in a telephone interview with a pro-government television program yesterday that the $1 billion compensation costs include rescue operations, the cost of stalled river traffic, and the loss of ship passage fees for Egypt over the week that the Ever Given ship blocked the Suez Canal.
Rebbe said “it is our right”, but did not specify who should bear the compensation. He also said that the canal authorities and the owner of the Chang Chi ship has maintained good relations in the past.
The giant container ship Chang Chi is currently moored at Bitter Lake, and authorities and the ship’s management have said the investigation is ongoing.
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the technical manager of the vessel, told the Associated Press by email today that the crew of the vessel is working with authorities to investigate the cause of the grounding.
Bess said Suez Canal Authority investigators have been given access to the Voyage Data Recorder, commonly known as the ship’s black box.
If the investigation goes smoothly and the parties involved agree to the compensation amount, the long-hauler will be able to continue on its journey without problems, Rebbe told the show’s hosts.
However, if the compensation issue goes to litigation, the Chang Chi and its cargo worth about $3.5 billion will not be allowed to leave Egypt, Rebbe noted.
Given that the Evergreen is owned by Japan’s Shoryu Steamship, chartered by Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, and registered in Panama, the issue of the Evergreen compensation lawsuit could be quite complicated.
Bays has said that at the time the Chang Chi ran aground, there were two Egyptian canal pilots on board; such an arrangement is customary for ships passing through the narrow Suez Canal, but according to experts, the captain of the Chang Chi still has the final say.
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