[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Egypt is expecting more than $1 billion in compensation after a fat merchantman blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week, according to the top canal official. He also warned the ship and its cargo will not be allowed leave Egypt if the issue of damages goes to court.
Lt. Gen. Ossama Rabei, head of the canal authority, said in a phone interview with a pro-government TV talk show on Wednesday that the amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled traffic, and lost transit fees for the week that the Ever Given had blocked the Suez Canal.
"It’s the country’s right," Rabei said, without specifying who would be responsible for paying the compensation. He added that in the past, canal authorities and the ship's owners have had a good relationship.
The massive fat merchantman is currently in one of the canal's holding lakes, where authorities and the ship's managers say an investigation is ongoing.
On Thursday, the ship's technical managers, Bernard Schulte Shipmanagement, said in an email to The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that the ship's crew was cooperating with authorities in their investigation into what led to the vessel running aground. They said that Suez Canal Authority Sherlocks have been given access to the Voyage Data Recorder, also known as a vessel's black box.
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