After the 400-meter-long, 20,388 teu Ever Given giant container vessel created a headline-grabbing traffic jam in the Suez Canal for nearly a week, Egypt could be preparing a $1 billion claim for damages.
According to Egypt’s Sada ElBalad news channel, Ossama Rabei, the president of the Suez Canal Authority, the $1 billion figure would cover damages from losses of transit fees, harm to the waterway during dredging and salvage efforts, and the expense of machinery and labor.
The Ever Given ship ran aground on March 23 in the southern part of the canal and was back afloat on Monday 29 March.
The charterer of the 2018-built Ever Given, Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, said it is not responsible for any disruptions in cargo it was transporting and estimates only minimal costs for possible failure and harm resulting from the waterway blockage.
Evergreen president Eric Hsieh was cited on local Taiwanese news on Thursday as saying, “Our risk exposure to the incident is very, very limited.”
Hsieh said “We are only responsible for the carriage of cargoes onboard. Even if we have some claims, those will be covered by insurance.
