Egyptian Authorities set to release the giant container ship, the MV Ever Given on Wednesday, over 100 days after the megaship was refloated, having blocked the Suez Canal for six days, crippling global supply lines and costing billions.
This ends months of arrest of the ship by the economic court of Ismailia.
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) plans to hold a ceremony in Ismailia, where its headquarters are located on Wednesday to celebrate “the signing of the agreement” and the “departure of the ship”
The 200,000-tonne container vessel became wedged across the canal during a sandstorm on 23 March, blocking the shortest route from Asia to Europe. The Suez Canal carries 10 percent of global maritime trade and pumps vital revenues into Egyptian state coffers.
After a round-the-clock salvage operation to dislodge the ship, Egypt demanded compensation from Japanese owners Shoei Kisen Kaisha for lost canal revenues, salvage costs and damage to the shipping channel.
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced on Sunday that a final deal had been reached, without disclosing the amount of compensation to be paid.
The decision follows the signing of an agreement between Egyptian maritime authorities and the Japanese owner of the ship, Shoei Kisen Kaisha.
President of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, also disclosed that in addition to the compensation, Egypt would receive, a tugboat with a capacity of 75 tons from the owner of the Ever Given.
