Ever Given still held up in Suez waters amid legal battle
Although it has been several weeks since container ship ‘Ever Given’ ran aground in the Suez Canal, the troubles might just be beginning for the 26 Indian nationals on board that make up her crew. Egyptian authorities have impounded the ship as the state-owned Suez Canal Authority (SCA) demand a staggering $916 million in damages from Japanese owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd.
The crew is effectively stuck o
n board the ship currently moored in an artificial lake along the Suez. They now find themselves the victims of a legal dispute between Egyptian authorities and the Ever Given s owners and operators.
by Tyler Durden
Friday, Apr 23, 2021 - 10:00 PM
Ever since Egyptian authorities seized Ever Given, the massive container ship that notoriously blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week and demanded hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation from its owners, the world has forgotten about the vessel and its crew. But as the ship is moored on the side of Great Bitter Lake in the middle of the Suez Canal for nearly a month. New concerns mount that Ever Given s owners might be unwilling to pay the court-ordered fine, which could strand the vessel for months if not years.
According to The Guardian, crew members trapped on commercial vessels involved in international disputes are not uncommon. The British newspaper details the fate of one sailor who s been trapped on an abandoned container ship moored off the Gulf of Suez for two years.
Illustration; Image credit: Suez Canal Authority
The crew of the Ever Given containership, which has been stuck in Egypt for over three weeks, is in good spirits, and doing well, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said.
The statement was made after Egypt-based representatives of the union boarded the vessel on Sunday to determine the state of the crew.
As informed, all seafarer wages have been paid and there were no contract violations found by the ITF representatives. The crew had sufficient food provisions, and the union provided them with the devices to connect to the internet.
As reported earlier, the cargo vessel is currently anchored in Lake Bitter, in the Suez Canal system, as Egyptian authorities and the vessel’s insurer continue to negotiate over damages claims.
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International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) respresentatives boarded the Ever Given in the Suez Canal’s Great Bitter Lake on Sunday for a welfare check of its crew.
The health and welfare check comes as the ship remains at anchor in the Suez Canal under detention by canal authorities over a $916 million compensation claim. The Ever Given has been at anchor in the Great Bitter Lake since the ship was refloated on March 29.
The ITF reports the ship’s crew are in “good spirits”, have plenty of provisions and are up-to-date on pay.
“We are pleased to inform the world that the crew of the Ever Given is in good spirits, and doing well. The crew were pleased to see ITF Egyptian union officials, who greeted them and expressed the solidarity of the global seafaring family,” said ITF Arab World and Iran Network Coordinator Mohamed Arrachedi.