CAIRO – Egypt confiscated the container ship that blocked the Suez Canal last month, the ship’s owner said on Tuesday, amid a dispute over the amount of compensation due to the country after the closure of the waterway for a week.
The move increases pressure on Japanese owner Ever Ever to negotiate a solution that Egyptian authorities say should be about $ 1 billion in canal damage and lost business while the stranded vessel has blocked a trade-critical artery. global.
Shipowner Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. said the waterway manager confiscated Ever Ever after receiving an order from an Egyptian court, comparing the move to an arrest. “I am still talking. So we will continue the negotiations on compensation, “said Ryu Murakoshi, a company spokesman. He declined to disclose the amount in question.
Osama Rabie, president of the Suez Canal Authority, told state television that he was demanding payment for the costs of the rescue operation, damage to the banks of the canal and loss of income. The confiscation order claimed that the ship’s owners did not pay $ 900 million, according to Egyptian state media.
“They don’t want to pay anything,” Rabie said of the Japanese owners. He has repeatedly denied Egypt’s responsibility for the accident.