Suez Canal Authority slashes Ever Given compensation claims by $300m
The Suez Canal Authority has slashed its Ever Given compensation claims by nearly a third. The Egyptian body is now seeking $600m rather than $916m as negotiations stretch into another week to get the 400 m long vessel freed and able to get to its European destinations, seven weeks after it grounded, blocking the key waterway for six days.
After the ship was freed, it was towed to the Great Bitter Lakes and subsequently arrested.
General average has been declared by the ship’s owner, Shoei Kisen, with shippers braced for a big bill to get the 18,300 containers onboard moved to their European destinations.
Shoei Kisen has applied the International Convention on Limitation of Liability on the Ever Given, whereby it will aim to cap claims to a maximum of $115m.
Egyptians are the world’s most consummate bargain specialists. I am reminded of the day when one of the Suez Canal crew embarked my ship at Port Suez and commenced negotiations to buy our used crane wires. At the outset, the gap between the asking price and the offer seemed insurmountable. However, the negotiations were never broken and the gap countinued to narrow at a pace just right enough to conclude a deal well before his disembarkation.
The case of Ever Given is no different, it is just a play at a different scale.
Brilliant! Made my day!
So the Suez Canal Authority have recognised that they whilst they might have had a reputation at the end of the salvage, they lost it when as they arrested the ship, a few hours later.
One suspects that the actual loss in revenue for the canal of the handful of ships that diverted round the Cape, plus the additional overtime costs of clearing the backlog and the dredging costs will leave change out of the limitation fund.
The SCA will be well advised to take the limitation fund and start working on getting their reputation back.
“Take care of your character…and your reputation will take care of itself.”
An American proverb.
It’s likely the main cause of the accident was Bernouilli Principal otherwise known as Squat Effect especially if the UKC (under keel clearance) was reduced because of silting or sand buildup. Such a thing can happen by tidal scouring or cumulative propellor actions over a long perioc of time and then neglect of the Suez Authorities to dredge.. my view is the investigators must be getting nearer the truth of the matter and hence the great reduction in the amounts of monies being demanded
The main cause of grounding could be a combination of the following-+HUMAN ERROR. SCA PILOT, UKC IMPACT FOR A MEGA SHIP IMPACT. WIND AGE AREA EXPOSED TO ABT 40 KNOTS WIND, POOR ASSESSMENT , LACK OF EXPERIENCE, and POOR PASSAGE PLANNING are contributing factors for grounding of this Mega vessel. Similar future transit to be provided with additional resources to meet the contingency of such mega ship, alternative to use the north Siberian route through polar waters and put an end to the black mailing of the SCA authority.