The Ever Give left the Great Bitter Lake of the canal where it was held for more than three months amid a financial dispute.
Ever given, one of the world’s largest container vessels, resumed its voyage out of the Suez Canal on Wednesday, 106 days after being minted in a southern section of the waterway for nearly a week and interrupting the world trade.
The development came after its Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, reached an agreement with the canal authorities on an amount of compensation after weeks of negotiations and a legal confrontation.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday in a city in Ismailia, on the Suez Canal, in a ceremony, after which the ship was seen sailing to the Mediterranean Sea.
Shoei Kisen said the ship would undergo a diving study in Egypt’s Mediterranean city, Port Said, before resuming the voyage to the next port where its cargo will be unloaded.
The 400-meter (1,310-foot) ship is loaded with about 18,300 containers. Videos broadcast on Egyptian television showed the captain and another crew member a bouquet of flowers and a plaque aboard the ship.
“We regret the impact the delay in the voyage has had on those with cargo trapped on board,” Shoei Kisen said in a statement.
“Throughout this matter, every effort has been made to minimize the delay and ensure the release of the ship as quickly as possible.”
Wednesday’s release came a day after an Egyptian court lifted the judicial confiscation of the ship following notification from the Suez Canal Authority that it had reached an agreement with the ship’s owners and insurers.
Officials did not disclose details about the terms of the deal. Initially, the Suez Canal Authority demanded $ 916 million in compensation, which was later reduced to $ 550 million. In addition to the money, local reports said the canal would also receive a tugboat.
The money, according to canal authorities, would cover the recovery operation, the costs of the canal’s stopped traffic and the loss of traffic rates during the six days the given Exterior had blocked the crucial waterway.
Extraordinary event
The Panama-flagged ship was heading to the Dutch port of Rotterdam on March 23 when it exploded against the shore of a one-lane section of the canal about 6 km (3.7 miles) north of the entrance. south, near the city of Suez. .
Its bow had touched the eastern wall of the canal, while its stern seemed lodged against the western wall, an extraordinary event that experts said they had never heard of in the 150-year history of the canal.
A massive rescue effort by a flotilla of tide-assisted tugs freed the skyscraper-sized ship six days later, ending the crisis and allowing hundreds of waiting ships to pass through the canal.
The blockade of the Suez Canal forced some ships at the time to take the long alternative route around the Cape of Good Hope to the southern tip of Africa, which required additional fuel and other costs. Hundreds of other ships waited in place until the blockade ended.
The shutdown, which raised concerns about supply shortages and rising costs for consumers, added tension to the shipping industry that was already under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.
