Preliminary settlement reached on March Suez blockage

Protection and indemnity insurance entity UK Club said June 23 that an agreement in principle was reached on settling issues stemming from the March blockade of the Suez Canal.

High winds caused the Ever Given containership to wedge in the Suez on March 23, delaying maritime deliveries of oil, natural gas and general cargo. Tugs and excavators managed to free the vessel March 29.

P&I group UK Club said it was working with the Suez Canal Authority to finalise a settlement agreement as soon as possible.

“The UK Club is pleased to announce that, following extensive discussions with the Suez Canal Authority’s negotiating committee over the past few weeks, an agreement in principle between the parties has been reached,” it said. “Once the formalities have been dealt with, arrangements for the release of the vessel will be made.”

The government in Cairo is seeking more than $1bn in compensation for losses from the blockade in the Suez Canal and the refloating of the container vessel.

The Panamanian-flagged vessel, chartered by the Evergreen line, has been parked at a staging area in Bitter Lake north of the Suez Canal since it was freed.

The Suez handles roughly 10% of the global shipments of oil and LNG. The Suez authority estimated that, at its peak, some 420 or so vessels were stuck in the traffic jam.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi approved a plan last month to widen and deepen the south part of the Suez Canal in response to the obstruction.