Evergreen confirms Ever Given arrested pending $916m claim including $300m for loss of reputation
Taiwanese liner Evergreen confirmed on Wednesday that the 20,388 teu Ever Given has been arrested by a court in Egypt this week. The giant, near full ship is in the Great Bitter Lake with a crew of 25 onboard, weeks after it ran aground, blocking the Suez Canal. The ship is operated by Evergreen and owned by Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha.
has been arrested by a court in Egypt this week. The giant, near full ship is in the Great Bitter Lake with a crew of 25 onboard, weeks after it According to the vessel’s insurer, the UK P&I Club, Shoei Kisen has been hit with a $916m claim from the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).
Evergreen stated in a release that the claim includes $300m claim for a salvage bonus and $300m for “loss of reputation”.
“During the meeting between the shipowners and SCA on April 12, 2021, no consensus was reached as SCA’s claims are largely unsupported and lack any detailed justification. The following day (13th April), SCA immediately filed an application to arrest the Vessel and this has been granted by the Court,” Evergreen stated in its release issued on Wednesday.
General Average has been declared with shippers very unclear when they might get their cargoes onboard the ship.
For its part, the UK P&I Club said it was disappointed with the SCA’s decision to arrest the vessel.
“The SCA has not provided a detailed justification for this extraordinarily large claim,” the insurer stated this week.
The vessel’s classification society, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), completed surveys on on the ship 10 days ago and issued a certificate of fitness to allow the vessel to move from Great Bitter Lake.
The SCA is expected to issue its report into why the vessel came to be lodged on the eastern bank of the canal on Thursday, while the ship’s registry, Panama, will take many more months to issue its full accident investigation report.
Vessel arrest is not the right action done by #SCA .Their claim shall be settled by PnI asap which will not lead more issues from.the cargo owners which is on board.The Shoei Kisen owners are reputed owners so SCA shall reconsider arrest of vessel and anu action on board crew.
Since SCA Pilot was on board and due to #climatic conditions it all happened. SCA why not stopped transit of giant vessels in such weather conditions.
Keeping blame game aside vessel shall be released without further delays.
We stand with Shoei Kisen owners and crew on board.
This is going for long time & why till date not able to conclude the cause of investigation by the investigation team. It is very easy with all the data on board like VDR & data from ECR / alarm data recordings & course plotter etc.
First to find out the true cause of this incident with great shame & concern all over the world & positive counter measures to eliminate such incidents with proper timely risk assessments. Can not take this incident very easily & human errors should be analyzed seriously & concerned should be dealt seriously including the pilot on board for their easy attitude or taking things very lightly. It is a punishment just like murdering maritime industry & concerned should be dealt very seriously, otherwise more surprises can happen in future & company may close down.
Also company complete history of previous incidents & actions taken should be reviewed very seriously & company ISM/ ISO systems / procedure & creditability of shore & staff on board must be reviewed very serious concern here !!!!! Money & reputation are related with quality of staff & management here. Very sad & it is a very serious concern. If it would have happened in USA, company 100% Bankrupt & concerned in jail for ever as a good lesson. Hope this is taken very seriously & thorough investigation is carried out & serious action taken in time.
Would never had been jailed in the us as this was weather related, not human error – this is just corruption of government looking for cash. If the canal was built in the us it would have been built more professionally and double laned and this should not hav happened in the first place. Also the canal must be regularly dredged if not it affects the path the ships can take (pushed too close to one side or other) and obviously this is not being done enough.
In an ideal world I’d agree with you. SCA arresting the vessel essentially is holding its cargo and crew hostage. Is it questionable? Of course. SCA should let the ship and its crew move on and analyse the data and chain of events and arrive at a figure with the insurers in due course of time – in an ideal world.
Coming back to reality, maritime insurers are notorious for bargaining claims down to 20-30% of the actual claims even for small amounts, and here we’re talking about $1 Billion! Whichever portion of that is proven to be warranted, we all can be damn sure, P&I will bargain it down to a great extent – after stretching the case over years in 4 different international jurisdictions and courts.
SCA had exactly one bargaining chip – the vessel in its waters – and they’re holding on to it. It might be a morally questionable move, but this was the only way SCA could pressurise P&I. Now it’s not just SCA, everyone would hound P&I to close this case. The Japanese want their ship back, to make other consignments and carry on earning money. The crew members stuck on it is a separate crisis in itself. Tens of thousands of customers whose cargo is stuck (read: their insurers) are looking at expense counters running into millions for every day of delay. Basically, P&I will bleed money if it plays the delay game that insurers play.
A bit brutal and somewhat overreaching move, but SCA and Egypt gov. have displayed immense balls with this development. Here’s hoping for everyone’s sakes that the case closes ASAP.
Great and balanced comment, thanks for the perspective
True
Expose the contents on the ship…
Thank you. Based on the conversation, seems like a perfectly reasonable & logical request. Shrouded mystery content fully exposed elsewhere, while layers of the shroud mysteriously expose themselves. Irony eludes them aside honesty…
National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) stands in solidarity with all 25 seafarers onboard the “Ever Given”. The importance of Suez Canal is always mentioned. What about the importance of seafarers who move the world.
“SEAFARERS KEEP THE WORLD ALIVE – WORLDWIDE SUPPORT FOR EVER GIVEN – 25”,
They are not alone –
Abdulgani Serang, General Secretary cum Treasurer, National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI)
Dear Mr Serang,
May I ask what compensation or action has been taken by your Union towards the crew of Wakashio or other maritime casualties where Indian crew has been criminalised?
We need more than solidarity. We need the family at home to be compensated, we need psychological counselling for the crew and family
May be evergreen should make counter claim againt the sca pilot for piloting the ship aground, with the understanding that the ship captain/navigator was navigating the ship under the direction of the sca pilot. What is the $600m bonus and reputation? Would it not be cheaper to sail around the cape?
The Pilot is never a substitute for the Master. The Master is solely responsible for vessels safety at all times and Pilot is only riding along on an advisory capacity. Nobody understands this loophole better than the Egyptian and SCA Pilot association. They have arrested the Evergreen Boxship and thereby the Master or vice versa is same. This accident was waiting to happen and won’t be the last. Each time an accident and the Pilot will imy apologize to Master fet off the gangway and be finally exonerated. Master will be the sole target because vessel and cargo by default , will then be an easy target. This is the price we pay when unlucky. Not to count the professional and personal scars of a lifetime , for the poor Master. We pray for him for inner force to withstand the days ahead!
Capt.Malvinder Singh
Roughly fifty million packs of 200 Marlboro Red, in bond.
Final decision can be arrived only after investigation is complete. Vdr recording, spd of vessel at time of incident,wind speed assessment at time of incident, helm,rudder order will play crucial role.
If the fault is also of the pilot then blame has to be shared .Why only ship and owner suffer alone ?
As it is there are many other Big Ship owners who allow wrong to take place under their nose and then keep quite and refuse to act and to deliverJustice to seafarers and there ships escapes such big incidents.
Irony of life !
Those exaggerates charges will never be justified. Who on Earth made them up? Come on get the ship going! or do you want to do what officials did to the ship that carried the cargo that blasted Beirut the other day?
The usual way of freeing an arrested ship is the P&I Club providing security for the claim, in the form of a Letter of Guarantee or a Bank Guarantee. That allows the ship to leave and the claim to be negotiated without either side being placed under duress. Such guarantees have been given and accepted for more than a century and are the means whereby maritime trade is able to continue without hindrance.
This is a military Q sting operation to prevent human (children) trafficking and weapon trade. Do your own research. Indeed cargo could be exposed but guess this is used to deal with the deep state as the name of evergreen is H3RC. We are in martial law and military is in control. That is why most people dont understand the Egyptian decisions on this matter.
Containers for Gates ? Mooooooooo !
The SCA damage claims are exorbitant.
Surely the bank guarantees should be enough or failing the American govt can reprimand their Egyptian poodle and resolve the issue with a invasion threat .
Just more Egyptian corruption on show here, it’s second nature for them.
The idea that the SCA has a valued reputation which has somehow been damaged is a joke, this just exposes their incompetence and corruption.