Preparations for the release of the containership Ever Given are set to begin after the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and shipowner Shoei Kisen Kaisha formally completed an agreement over compensation.
The legal process of finalising the agreement in principle, which was announced late last month, for damage caused by the grounding of the 20,388-teu Ever Given (built 2018) was the final barrier its release.
“Following the agreement in principle between the parties, and after further meetings with the SCA’s negotiating committee and numerous court hearings, good progress has been made and a formal solution has now been agreed,” said Stann director Faz Peermohamed, whose company has represented the ship's Japanese shipowner and its insurers.
“Preparations for the release of the vessel will be made and an event marking the agreement will be held at the authority’s headquarters in Ismailia in due course.”
The completion of the agreement was confirmed by the UK P&I Club, which is one of the insurers which has been involved in the negotiations with the SCA.
The preparations for the release of the vessel are likely to include the removal of the arrest order and final safety checks by its classification society.
No date has been given for the release of the vessel.
The upcoming release of the ship will come as relief to the owners of around 20,000-teu of cargo on the ship which have been forced to wait for delivery since it first went aground in the Suez Canal in March this year.
The Ever Given, which is operated by Taiwan's Evergreen Line, blocked the Suez Canal for six days in total causing major disruption to world trade.
The SCA immediately arrested the ship, and its cargo, after it was refloated and demanded $916m in compensation. The demand was later reduced to $550m.
Imabari-based Shoei earlier declared general average which will require cargo owners to put up security to secure the return of their cargo.
The Ever Given’s next scheduled port of call is Rotterdam.
