This story is only a few hours old. Just blame a woman Captain for it.
This was already published:
Thanks. I wondered before I posted, but it just arrived in my email. It was the first Iâd heard of it.
They keep arriving:
Thatâs what I think.
Ever Given remains at anchor in the Bitter Lakes area of the Suez Canal, where inspections have reportedly discovered damage to its bow, which needs to be repaired before it can continue its voyage to North Europe.
âThese repairs are not, however, thought to be significant,â a casualty update from marine claims consultancy WK Webster said.
The Suez Canal chief said on Tuesday (Apr 6) that authorities are negotiating a financial settlement with the owners of a massive vessel that blocked the crucial waterway for nearly a week.
Lieutenant General Osama Rabie told the Associated Press he hoped talks with Shoei Kisen Kaisha, the Japanese owner of the skyscraper-sized Ever Given, will conclude without a lawsuit.
âWe are discussing with them a peaceful resolution to the matter without resorting to the judiciary,â he said. He maintained that bringing the case before a court would be more harmful to the firm than settling with the canalâs management.
The canal chief said last week the Suez Canal Authority was expecting more than US$1 billion in compensation, warning the ship would not be allowed to leave the canal if the issue of damages turns into a legal dispute.
That amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled traffic and lost transit fees for the week that the Ever Given blocked the canal. He did not specify then who would be responsible for paying the compensation.
"UK Clubâs Mackinnon said ââwe are confident we are not in that territory at all.ââ
Typical posturing insurance lawyer/manager who wonât pay what is truly owed without the defense lawyers churning the file.
In fact the SCA have taken ship, cargo and crew hostage and try during the negotiations to wear down the owners. Time is to their advantage, the owners must be pretty desperate by now and are softened bit by bit until they give in. Remember that they probably also have to repair the ship and no docking facilities are available in that nook of the Med. Once the Egyptians have there claws into you there is no escaping possible. Best thing to do is to try to minimize the losses and avoid the Suez Canal in the future.
Having been an Engineer in a container port which served Evergreen ships, I became interested in this event and soon found the news coverage to be sadly lacking and even with my limited maritime knowledge could tell that a lot of it was inaccurate.
I joined this forum with the hope of finding out a bit more and am now very pleased I did. By reading this thread, not only have I learnt a great deal about what happened and the recovery but so much more including the cultural angle which now looks like it could be the root cause.
Makes you realise how poor the mainstream news media is!
The vessel was impounded by the Egyptian government on 13 April 2021 for refusing to pay a reported $916 million in fees demanded by the government, including $300 million in âloss of reputationâ.
They cannot substantiate the $1 billion and now they have made up a ruse with the ridiculous âloss of reputationâ argument. Whatâs next?
Duh. They are suffering a massive loss of reputation by this public display of avarice. The Suez Canal Authority being what it is, this is the inescapable impact of a ball that started rolling when the Ever Given sheared off the bank. Thus, itâs obviously Evergreenâs fault. Or the Master. Or someone.
True. They are shooting themselves in the footâŚ
âNextâ is they included a âsalvage bonusâ, whatever that is, of also a round $300 million! They are totally shameless. I estimate their total costs at about $100 million at most. So they have to dream up all kinds of idiotic items to fill the $900 million left. Another $300 million still to go. Could be for widely shoveling out bribes to friends and neighbors for imaginary services provided.
After negotiations between the channel operator and the shipping company about the amount of the compensation stalled on Monday, the SCA filed a petition on Tuesday to seize the ship, which has been granted by the court.
Evergreen hopes that the parties will reach a settlement and that the ship will be released again. Ship and cargo, with a combined value of probably more than half a billion dollars, have now been delayed by more than three weeks.
The Taiwanese shipping company says it is studying the scope of the court order, including the possibility to handle ship and cargo âseparatelyâ. The shipping company thus seems to be hinting at a scenario in which the containers are unloaded on site in order to be transported. Evergreen says it is committed to âcompleting the mission entrusted to it by its customers with all due urgency and to minimize any adverse impact.â
And massive temporary loss in cases of Marlboro cigarettes. I remember a customs inspection/ clearance in Coatzacolcas, Mexico. We passed out hats and Marlboros to the âOfficialsâ seated in the galley while their minions rifled our meager pantry. One of the custom guys who looked like the fat sargeant on âZorroâ was not satisfied with his loot. Asked while pointing to his eye âI want to see the storeâ. We had no store I told him. He kept insisting, I took him to my room where the cigs and ballcaps were held. He grabbed the other case of cigs I had and I stopped him. Told him those were for his friends. His reply âI have no friendsâ. The older gentleman who was with him got a great chuckle watching me and this greedy bastard tugging on that case of smokes. I won out, but wondered if they would invent a reason to come back. They didnât, but later boarded a pilot for sailing,ordered tugs, then canceled due to darkness. Paid twice for tugs and pilot. I hated going there.
Maybe this should be a message to underwriters and owners. When the price of corruption is greater than the value of conducting business it is time to take business elsewhere.
How long do you think the Egyptian economy would last when shipping companies give them the finger?
The Ben Gurion Canal Project
The Egyptian economy would last not more than a week when shipping companies give them the finger!
https://thearabweekly.com/ship-crisis-revives-russian-israeli-talk-alternatives-suez-canal
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi sought to calm Egyptian fears about the alternatives that the world shippers could be compelled to seek after the Suez Canal blockage and the subsequent disruption that lasted for days.
The Ever Given incident has caused a shortage of garden gnomes in England:
Earl
Would love to see that happen. Two options finally, but course, the third. Go around, not the best.
This article by Rose George in the British newspaper The Guardian does an excellent summary of the operation of the Suez Canal. I was unaware that the Cosco Galaxy, a vessel of the same size as the Ever Given, was ahead of her until I read the article.
Terrible, hope they survive without them .Give them my hopes and prayers.
There is rather a panic here because a large shipment of Easy Toys is still on the seized Ever Given.