The Egyptian government has requested over $1 billion in payment after cargo ship the Ever Given blocked traffic in one of the world’s busiest trade routes for a week, delaying hundreds of vessels.
Authorities did not say who would be held accountable, only that the ship, its crew, and cargo — worth roughly $3.5 billion — will not be allowed to leave the country if the issue is brought to court.
“It’s the country’s right,” lieutenant general Ossama Rabei said on Wednesday during a televised interview, noting that the fee covers salvage costs, stalled traffic compensation as well as tariffs lost during the week.
The incident — which saw the massive cargo ship beached and turned sideways, cutting perpendicular across the canal — is now under investigation. The Ever Given is being held in an artificial lake attached to the Suez canal after being refloated on Monday.
Boat managing company Bernard Schulte Shipmanagement is cooperating fully with authorities, according to a statement released by the company, and received guarantees from the government that the Ever Given will be able to continue on its way pending a satisfactory investigation and settling of the compensation.
If taken to court, the case will draw together parties from around the world. The Ever Given is Japanese-owned, Taiwanese-operated, Panamanian-flagged, and crewed primarily by Indian sailors.
At the time of the beaching, two Egyptian pilots were also onboard to guide the ship through the canal.
Roughly 12% of global trade passes through the Suez Canal and an Egyptian government expansion project completed in 2015 doubled the waterway’s daily capacity from 49 to 97 ships.
This dwindled to zero for the past six days after the Ever Given got stuck in a sandbank amid high winds reaching 40 miles an hour - a likely factor behind the incident.
The 400-meter long vessel’s bow was lodged into a sandbank and required a team of diggers and tug boats to dislodge itself, captivating audiences around the world and providing fodder for social media.
