Although the giant container ship Changci has been rescued from the Suez Canal, she still finds herself trapped because some people think she should pay for the rescue work.
According to the website of Business Insider on the 11th, Egyptian authorities said they would not release the ship unless the owner agreed to pay up to $1 billion in compensation.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Osama Rabie, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, told a local news agency on Thursday: “The ship will stay here until the investigation is completed and the compensation is paid. ” He added: “We hope that an agreement can be reached soon, and once they agree to pay compensation, the ship can leave.”
Rabbi pointed out that $1 billion would include the cost of equipment and machinery for opening the way, as well as the damage caused by the canal itself by errrigation, and pay compensation for about 800 staff who rescued the 200,000-ton ship. As a result of the accident, it eventually caused a large-scale “blockage” of more than 400 ships at both ends of the canal. The owner of the Long Gift also had to pay for the blockade of the canal.
According to the London financial company Revenitiv, the Egyptian government lost $95 million worth of transit fees due to the blockade.
The report pointed out that it was not clear who would pay for Egypt’s compensation claim. The Japanese owner of the ship, Zhengrong Steamboat Company (from Ehime Prefecture, Japan), told the Wall Street Journal that they had not received official information from the Egyptian authorities.
And Bloomberg pointed out that Eric Hsieh, general manager of Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corporation, said that the company “will not be responsible for delays in the goods” because “cargoes” The delay will be borne by insurance.
At present, Egypt has begun to formally investigate how the ship was initially trapped. It is reported that the “Changci”, the cargo on board and 25 Indian crew members will continue to be moored in Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake until the investigation is completed. Earlier this month, authorities told Business Insider that the ship’s crew was safe and would continue to be paid.
According to CNBC, Rabbi, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, said that although he preferred to settle the compensation problem out of court, he did not rule out the possibility of filing a lawsuit. He said: “We can agree on some kind of compensation, or go to court. If they decide to go to court, then they should seize the ship.”
