Reuters : Ship owner says Suez Canal was at fault over Ever Given grounding- lawyer

The owner of a container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March says the canal authority was at fault over its grounding as it disputes the vessel’s detention and a compensation claim, a lawyer representing the owner said on Saturday.

The Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container ships, became jammed across the canal in high winds on March 23, and remained grounded for six days, blocking traffic in both directions and disrupting global trade.

The vessel has since been held in a lake between two stretches of the canal as the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) pursues a $916.5 million claim against Japanese owner Shoei Kisen.

An appeals chamber at Ismailia Economic Court held hearings on Saturday over the ship’s detention, which the SCA is seeking to uphold following an appeal by the owner, as well as the SCA’s financial claim.

Lawyers representing Shoei Kisen argued that the SCA had been at fault for allowing the ship to enter the waterway amid bad weather, Ahmed Abu Ali, a member of the legal team, told Reuters, adding that the authority failed to prove any fault by the ship.

Recordings from the ship that were presented to the court showed disagreements between SCA pilots and its control centre over whether it should enter the canal, Abu Ali said.

Lawyers for Shoei Kisen said the ship should have been accompanied by at least two tug boats suitable for the ship’s size “but this didn’t happen”, he added.

The SCA did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but it has publicly denied being at fault.

Lawyers for Shoei Kisen also argued that the Ever Given’s detention was legally flawed and that the work to release the ship was not “a salvage (operation) in the proper legal sense”, meaning the SCA could not seek compensation for such an operation, Abu Ali said.

“This was one of the duties of the authority according to the traffic contract,” he said.

Shoei Kisen is claiming $100,000 in initial compensation for losses related to its detention, he said.

The court was expected to issue a decision on the case on Sunday, lawyers and witnesses said.

On anotheer side ,An Egyptian court will decide on a claim by Suez Canal Authority on Sunday against the owner of the massive container ship that blocked the vital waterway for almost a week in March.The 400-metre-long Ever Given is owned by Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd and was chartered by Taiwan’s Evergreen Line when it got stuck in the southern end of the waterway for six days.

The Suez Canal Authority wants compensation to cover the loss of transit fees, damage to the waterway during the dredging and salvage efforts and the cost of equipment and labour. Dredging work to extend a second lane of the Suez Canal began last week with hopes to complete it by 2023.The operator’s legal team has argued it should receive $916 million in compensation.However, the ship’s insurers have said that amount is too high.

The Egyptian court will also issue a ruling about an appeal by the owners of the ship against a May 4 decision that upheld an order preventing the giant container ship from leaving the country.

The Ever Given is still anchored in the Suez Canal with authorities refusing to allow it to leave the country until a compensation amount is settled.

The Ever Given was on its way to the Dutch port of Rotterdam on March 23 and battled strong winds before it slammed into the bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal.

A massive salvage effort by a flotilla of tugboats, helped by the tides, freed the Panama-flagged Ever Given six days later, ending the crisis, and allowing hundreds of ships in waiting to pass through the canal.

The blockage of the canal forced some ships to take the long alternate route around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa’s southern tip, requiring additional fuel and other costs.

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Hundreds of other ships waited in place for the blockage to end.