Ever Given impounded in Egypt amid US$916 million claims dispute

Evergreen Marine Corporation has confirmed that the containership Ever Given was arrested by an Egyptian court on Tuesday, April 13.

Evergreen said in a statement that, in accordance with the information from UK P&I Club, shipowner Shoei Kisen received a claim from the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) for the sum of US$916 million on April 7 to cover losses during the vessel’s grounding in the Suez Canal on March 23.

The amount includes a US$300 million claim for salvage bonus and a US$300 million claim for loss reputation and so on, added Evergreen.

The charterer said that, during the meeting between the shipowners and SCA on Monday, April 12, no consensus was reached as the SCA’s claims are largely unsupported and lack any detailed justification. The following day, April 13, the SCA immediately filed an application to arrest the vessel, which was subsequently granted by a local court.

Evergreen said that it is urging all concerned parties to facilitate a settlement agreement to be reached in order to ensure the arrest order is lifted as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the company is investigating the scope of the court order and studying the possibility of the vessel and the cargo on board being treated separately.

Ever Given is currently in the Great Bitter Lake. It was towed there to undergo technical inspections after it was successfully dislodged from the canal on March 29.