May 4th 2021, the Ismailia District Court in Egypt rejected an appeal by the owner of the Chang’e-Ji to lift the seizure of the Long-Gift, ruling that it could not leave the Suez Canal.
According to the U.S. Business Insider website reported that Egypt’s Ismailia City Economic Court held its first hearing on the same day, the “Long-Gift” owner of the shipowner company’s application for appeal. After hearing the application of the owner’s company lawyer for the seizure decision, the court finally rejected its application for the lifting of the seizure of the cargo ship. Earlier, the shipowners and the Suez Canal Authority were deadlocked over the payment of compensation after failing to agree on the amount of compensation.
The Chang-Hui ran aground on the Suez Canal for six days from 23 March 2021, causing severe traffic congestion in the canal. The Long-Gifted sailed into the waters of the Great Bitter Lake and was subsequently seized by Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority, which claimed more than $900 million from the owner of the Chang-Hui to compensate for the damage caused by the suspension.
The Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama al-Sham, said that the Rabiya told the media in April that the Chang-Hui would not be allowed to leave without paying compensation, “and we hope that an agreement can be reached on this matter as soon as possible, and that the ship will be able to leave as soon as they are willing to pay compensation”.
Following the verdict on May 4th, The UK Club, the insurer of Changhui, expressed disappointment at the ruling, saying the $900m compensation was “unfounded”, particularly the $300m “reputational damage fee”.
At present, the Suez Canal Authority is still investigating the cause of the “long gift” stranded. Some experts believe that a local storm was the main cause of the accident. However, The Chairman Of The Suez Canal AuthoritY, Rabier, Denied This Claim, Saying That Human Error Was The Real Cause, But He Did Not Explain It Further.
