Egypt has alleged the master of the Ever Given lost control of the giant boxship that blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March.
The Wall Street Journal cited the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) as saying the 20,388-teu Evergreen-operated Ever Given (built 2018) veered left and right across the waterway before hitting a bank.
Sayed Sheisha, the SCA's chief investigator, was reported as saying: "The captain issued eight commands within 12 minutes as he tried to bring the ship back into alignment."
Owner Shoei Kisen has not commented.
The compensation case involving the vessel was adjourned by a court in Ismailia on Saturday.
This was to allow more time for talks on the amount being claimed by the SCA.
The hearing will resume on 20 June following requests from lawyers on both sides, Bloomberg reported.
The authority initially claimed more than $916m in damages.
This was lowered to $550m after the SCA said it had miscalculated the value of the cargo on the ship.
Insurers have said the demand remains too high.
Aiming for settlement
"There are endeavours to reach a settlement and because they are good clients, we are asking the court to postpone to negotiate and study the offer submitted by the owners,” Nabil Zidan, an SCA lawyer, said in court.
“Negotiations are on and there’s flexibility from both sides,” said Ahmed Abu Shanab, the shipowner’s lawyer.
Shoei Kisen has previously offered to pay $150m, according to the SCA.
But the authority has said this does not cover losses of transit fees, damage to the waterway and costs of equipment and labour during the salvage.
