Ever Given insurers reject US$600 million claim over Suez Canal blockage
The 400-metre Ever Given, one of the largest container ships in the world, was sailing to the Netherlands when it got stuck on the Suez Canal in March.
JOHANNESBURG, May 11 (ANA) – The insurers of container ship Ever Given, which was stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal for nearly a week in March, have rejected a reduced claim amount from canal authorities, saying it is still too high, news website UNILAD reported on Tuesday.
It said the ship’s insurers insisted they still could not agree to the US$600 million claim from the Suez Canal Authority, which is down from an initial $916 million demand.
The Egyptian government says $300 million is to cover salvage costs, as well as the loss of reputation suffered by the blockage of the Suez Canal, a major source of income and strategic power for the North African country, according to media reports.
According to UNILAD, the insurers said the claim was largely unsupported and they would continue to negotiate with the Suez Canal Authority for a more reasonable offer.
A report by Beijing-based English language cable TV news service CGTN said the blockage caused by the stuck ship resulted in almost $US10 billion a day in lost global trade.
A story on news website Splash247.com, dated Monday, said the ship’s owner Shoei Kisen had applied the International Convention on Limitation of Liability on the Ever Given, whereby it would aim to cap claims to a maximum of $115 million.
The 400-metre Ever Given, one of the largest container ships in the world, was sailing to the Netherlands when it got stuck on the Suez Canal in March.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa
