It’s the gift that keeps “Given.”
Egyptian authorities say they want the once-stranded Ever Given’s owners to pay major cash for the week that the ship shut down traffic in the Suez Canal.
Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), said on Egyptian state television Egypt plans to hold the ship during the ongoing investigation.
The price tag could reach $1 billion as local authorities investigate how the ship got caught in the canal, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The SCA estimates the losses at $95 million in lost transit fees, plus costs to free the ship and other expenses.
The Ever Given is still inside the Suez Canal, in a wider area called the Great Bitter Lake.
“The vessel will remain here until investigations are complete and compensation is paid,” Rabie said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “The minute they agree to compensation, the vessel will be allowed to move.”
A statement from the National Union of Seafarers of India said the SCA and the boat’s owners are allowed to investigate, but that these discussions should not create a piracy-like situation. There are 25 Indian crew members on board, though it appears the workers are being treated well.
“If the SCA has suffered losses, they can sort it out with those involved with the ship but that cannot haul up seafarers in any manner,” the National Union of Seafarers of India’s general secretary told the Times of India.
According to New York Post reporting, the canal incident caused “chaos in the highly trafficked waterway, blocking $9 billion each day in global trade and (put) more stress on supply chains already stretched thin during the coronavirus pandemic.”
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