The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) assured shippers that the traffic situation at the waterway is at "normal rates" — emphasizing that the Authority has also implemented measures and acquired necessary capabilities to handle breakdowns in the wake of the disruption brought by the blockage caused by EVER GIVEN late in March.
In a statement, the Suez Canal Authority Chairman and Managing Director Osama Rabie reported that 68 vessels transited the Canal in both directions with net tonnage amounting to 3.6 million tons.
"Admiral Rabie has conveyed a message of reassurance concerning the regularity of the navigation traffic in the Canal at normal rates, stressing that the Authority's acquisition of necessary salvage expertise as well as the necessary capabilities technical and navigational safety to handle breakdowns," the SCA said.
It added that aside from the availability of the essential infrastructure in order to deal with abrupt emergencies especially after opening the New Suez Canal project and development projects related to constructing a series of garages along the new waterway.
For one, the SCA said recently, it was able to immediately take action on the engine trouble that happened to one of the transiting vessels which is the MAERSK EMERALD container ship, during its transit among the South-bound convoy.
The SCA noted that its immediate action allowed the vessel to resume its transit through the canal after having the breakdown fixed by the vessel's crew and it is anchoring at the Great Bitter Lakes to check the technical status.
"The SCA Chairman highlighted that the navigation through the canal was not impacted by any means as the transit of the South-bound convoy has been shifted to the New Suez Canal through the Eastern Al-Defreswar by-pass which stresses the importance of the New Suez Canal in leveraging the navigational safety rates and its ability to handle any emergencies," it said.
Furthermore, the Suez Canal officials said the Singaporian-flagged container ship MAERSK EMERALD is 353 meters in overall length with a beam of 48 meters in width and a draft of 15.50 meters in depth with a load tonnage amounting to 146 thousand tons.
Suez Canal blockage case adjourned for compensation talks
Meanwhile, an Egyptian court adjourned the case involving the grounding of EVER GIVEN for nearly a week earlier this year to allow more time for negotiations and eventual resolution over a financial dispute between the ship owners and the Suez Canal Authority.
The dispute centers around the compensation amount that the Egyptian authorities are seeking against the vessel's Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha, which ran aground and blocked one of the world's major waterways for six days.
The Suez Canal Authority earlier demanded a US$916 million compensation, which was later lowered to US$550 million — which would cover the cost for the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic, and lost transit fees for the time that the massive 20,000 TEU-class container ship blocked the canal.
Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., and insurers, however, argued that the demand is still too high compared to their US$150 million offer in compensation, which was rejected by the canal authority.
On Saturday, the Ismailia Economic Court adjourned the hearing to June 20, as the vessel's owner submitted a new offer to settle the dispute out of court, the Suez Canal Authority said in a statement without providing further details.
"Ismailia first instance economic court has issued its ruling concerning the lawsuit No. 78 of 2021 filled by the Suez Canal Authority against the owners and charters of the vessel EVER GIVEN and a number of other parties as to be adjourned upon the request of the parties to seize the opportunity to negotiate and to declare the writs of intervention submitted by third parties and duties payment," it said.
"The ruling was based on the request submitted by the two parties to adjourn the case which allows examining some case related new fundamentals as the legal representative of the SCA has submitted a request to adjourn the case to examine the offer submitted by the vessel's owners and charters as per some new fundamentals," it added.
Egypt blames ship captain for vessel grounding
Last week, Egyptian officials also accused the captain of EVER GIVEN of "losing control" of the ship and eventually hitting the vital waterway's bank.
Since it was freed on March 29, the Panama-flagged vessel, which reportedly carries US$3.5 billion worth of cargo between Asia and Europe, has been ordered by authorities to remain in a holding lake mid-canal as the parties continued to argue on the settlement.
The blockage of one of the world's busiest waterways impacted around 422 ships, according to the SCA earlier, as authorities imposed a temporary suspension of navigation through the Suez Canal last March 25 — forcing some ships to take the long alternate route around the Cape of Good Hope, adding to the time and cost of using the route at Africa's southern tip.
The shutdown also earlier raised concerns of supply shortages and rising costs for consumers, adding strain on the shipping industry, already under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic with about 10% of the world trade passes through the Suez Canal annually.
Both Port of Rotterdam and Port of Singapore earlier said the backlog from the Suez Canal jam has all been processed.
The final court verdict on compensation has been set for June 20.
