CAIRO: The owner of a container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March says the canal authority was at fault over its grounding as it disputes the vessel’s detention and a compensation claim, a lawyer representing the owner said on Saturday.
The Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container ships, became jammed across the canal in high winds on March 23, and remained grounded for six days, blocking traffic in both directions and disrupting global trade.
The vessel has since been held in a lake between two stretches of the canal as the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) pursues a $916.5 million claim against Japanese owner Shoei Kisen.
An appeals chamber at Ismailia Economic Court held hearings on Saturday over the ship’s detention, which the SCA is seeking to uphold following an appeal by the owner, as well as the SCA’s financial claim.
Lawyers representing Shoei Kisen argued that the SCA had been at fault for allowing the ship to enter the waterway amid bad weather, Ahmed Abu Ali, a member of the legal team, told Reuters, adding that the authority failed to prove any fault by the ship.
Recordings from the ship that were presented to the court showed disagreements between SCA pilots and its control center over whether it should enter the canal, Abu Ali said.
Lawyers for Shoei Kisen said the ship should have been accompanied by at least two tug boats suitable for the ship’s size “but this didn’t happen,” he added.
The SCA did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but it has publicly denied being at fault.
Lawyers for Shoei Kisen also argued that the Ever Given’s detention was legally flawed and that the work to release the ship was not “a salvage (operation) in the proper legal sense,” meaning the SCA could not seek compensation for such an operation, Abu Ali said.
“This was one of the duties of the authority according to the traffic contract,” he said.
Shoei Kisen is claiming $100,000 in initial compensation for losses related to its detention, he said.
The court was expected to issue a decision on the case on Sunday, lawyers and witnesses said.
Ship owner says Suez Canal was at fault over Ever Given grounding – lawyer
https://arab.news/89a2s
Ship owner says Suez Canal was at fault over Ever Given grounding – lawyer
- The Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container ships, became jammed across the canal in high winds on March 23
- Shoei Kisen is claiming $100,000 in initial compensation for losses related to its detention
Helicopter crashes in Libya during medical evacuation, killing 3
- The Matan Al-Sarra air base lies in an area under the control of Libya’s Benghazi-based eastern administration led by military strongman Khalifa Haftar, but authorities in the east did not comment on the crash
TRIPOLI: A helicopter has crashed in southeastern Libya, killing a medic and two crew members carrying out a medical evacuation, state media said Tuesday.
Libyan news agency LANA said the chopper went down overnight near an air base in the Kufra region about 60 kilometers north of the border between Libya and Chad.
The aircraft was attempting to evacuate a soldier who had been involved in a road accident in the desert, LANA said.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known and it was unclear what happened to the injured soldier.
Libyan media reports said two foreign nationals were among those on board who were killed, but this was not confirmed by authorities.
The Matan Al-Sarra air base lies in an area under the control of Libya’s Benghazi-based eastern administration led by military strongman Khalifa Haftar, but authorities in the east did not comment on the crash.
Libya remains split between the eastern administration and a UN-backed government in the west led by Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah. The LANA news agency is under the control of western authorities.
Libya has struggled to recover from chaos that erupted following a 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled and killed longtime ruler Muammar Qaddafi.
