Egypt Court Rejects Appeal to Free Ship That Blocked Suez

(Bloomberg) -- An Egyptian court again rejected an appeal by the owners of a giant container ship that blocked the Suez Canal to allow it to leave the country.

The appeals court in the town of Ismailia also referred the lawsuit by the Suez Canal Authority against the Ever Given’s owners back to a lower trial court. The SCA is claiming more than more than $900 million in damages linked to the canal’s six-day closure in March, which roiled shipping markets.

Sunday’s ruling marked the second time the Ever Given’s Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., lost a bid to have a seizure order lifted. The next hearing was set for May 29.

Frantic Operation

The vessel’s operators say the SCA’s demand is unwarranted and inflated. The SCA initially asked for $916 million, but recently lowered the figure in out-of-court negotiations to $600 million, which the ship’s insurers say is still too high.

The 400-meter-long Ever Given was freed on March 29 after a frantic salvage operation and sailed to the Great Bitter Lake, about halfway along the canal, where it has been kept ever since.

About 50 ships a day pass through the canal, which can cut a voyage between Europe and Asia by two weeks. More than 400 vessels were held up by the blockage, though most were able to pass through soon after the channel was reopened. This month Egypt started dredging to widen the southern end, where the Ever Given got stuck.

On Saturday, lawyers for the Ever Given’s owner argued that a transcript of the black box from the ship showed that the captain was given conflicting messages from SCA officials on March 23, the day of the grounding. Two SCA staff argued about whether or not the Ever Given should enter the canal due to higher-than-normal winds, according to the lawyers.

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