By: Brady Knox
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/author/brady-knox
The Suez Canal Authority reached an agreement with the Japanese firm Shoei Kisen Kaisha, owners of the megatanker Ever Given, to release the ship on Sunday.
>>"We are pleased to announce that … good progress has been made and a formal solution agreed" between the two sides, a member of the law firm representing the owners and insurers of the Ever Given said on Sunday
The Ever Given, a Taiwanese-owned, Panamanian flagged ship, ran aground on March 23, resulting in a nearly weeklong effort to dislodge the vessel. In the six days that traffic was blocked, the SCA was calculated to have lost $72-$90 million, according to Agence France-Presse. An estimated $9.6 billion of cargo was held up each day the canal was blocked.
>>The SCA wanted to be compensated for not just the amount of revenue lost but also the cost for the salvaging operation and damage to the canal. This amount was originally put at over $900 million but was later lowered to $550 million, according to the Associated Press. The deal that has just been signed is confidential, so the final amount paid is unknown.
The vessel has been retained in a mid-canal holding lake ever since being freed in March, stranding the 25-man Indian crew on board for over three months. Authorities refused to release the ship without a settlement with its owners. The SCA said a ceremony to mark the signing of the agreement will take place on Wednesday, along with the owners and "the departure of the ship."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/suez-canal-authority-deal-megatanker