Egypt offered to reduce by one-third the compensation claims of the owners of the container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March, Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie said.
The canal authority said it would reduce compensation claims to $600 million from $900 million, according to Rabie. The SCA also offered payment terms to the owners of the container ship Ever Given, but they have not yet responded, he said.
An Egyptian court granted the Suez Canal Authority’s request to seize the vessel in mid-April while compensation talks dragged on. The blockade has sent shockwaves through shipping markets as hundreds of ships have had to wait for the canal to reopen, which can cut travel time between Asia and Europe by two weeks.
The canal authority has said compensation is needed to cover losses in transit fees, damage to the waterway during dredging and salvage work, and the cost of equipment and labor.
The 400-meter Ever Given is owned by Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. and was being chartered by Taiwan’s Evergreen Line when it became stuck at the southern end of the canal for six days.
Egypt’s Suez Canal revenues rose 2.8% in the first four months of 2021 to $1.96 billion, up from $1.9 billion a year earlier.
