Settlement reached in Suez Canal ship case

The insurers and the company that owns the Ever Given cargo ship that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week earlier this year announced on Wednesday that they have reached a settlement with the Egyptian government.

The Ever Given’s insurance company, the UK P&I Club, provided an updated statement on the case, saying the cargo ship would be released once the agreement was finalized.

“The UK Club is pleased to announce that, following extensive discussions with the Suez Canal Authority’s negotiating committee over the past few weeks, an agreement in principle between the parties has been reached,” the insurance company said. “Together with the owner and the ship’s other insurers we are now working with the SCA to finalise a signed settlement agreement as soon as possible.”

The UK Club did not state what the monetary terms of the settlement were. The SCA had initially demanded $900 million in compensation before lowering their demand to $550 million.

Egyptian authorities seized the Ever Given in April, ordering the ship’s owner, Japanese chartering company Shoei Kisen Kaisha, to cover the losses incurred over the ship’s blockage. The ship and its crew have been stuck in Egypt this entire time as the terms of compensation were settled.

On Sunday, an Egyptian court adjourned the case involving the settlement the SCA was seeking from the Ever Given owners after both sides had requested more time for negotiations, with the added time appearing to have resulted in an agreement being reached.