The UK P&I Club has come out in support of the master of the Ever Given, following allegations he is to blame for the containership's Suez Canal grounding in March, which disrupted world trade for six days.
The Suez Canal Authority's (SCA) chief investigator was recently quoted as saying that it was “repeated orders” from the master of the 20,388-teu Ever Given (built 2018), issued in a short space of time, that led to the grounding.
However, the UK Club — the protection and indemnity insurer of the ship's owner, Shoei Kisen — said on Thursday that the party responsible for the safe transit of the vessel was the SCA.
“The owners of the Ever Given and their P&I and hull and machinery insurers look forward to responding to these allegations within the Egyptian court proceedings," the UK Club said in a statement, expressing concerns about the SCA claims.
"Critically, it is important to clarify that whilst the master is ultimately responsible for the vessel, navigation in the canal transit within a convoy is controlled by the Suez Canal pilots and SCA vessel traffic management services. Such controls include the speed of the transit and the availability of escort tugs.”
The SCA has also said it is ready to reassess its insurance claim for salvage costs and damages caused by the incident. Its initial claim was $916m. The SCA later reduced that figure to $600m and subsequently stated it would review it once more, in light of a valuation of the ship and its cargo.
The UK Club welcomed the SCA's decision to review the claim.
“Since the start of this case, the owners of the Ever Given and their insurers have been committed to the fair resolution of this matter and we look forward to reaching a resolution as soon as is practicable,” the UK Club said.
“The Ever Given's owners and their P&I and hull and machinery insurers fully acknowledge that the SCA is entitled to compensation for their legitimate claims arising out of this incident.”
The UK Club said it would continue to seek an “amicable” solution, along with other insurers.
