Update: Ever Given container ship freed from arrest, leaves Suez Canal

• Suez Canal reopened to traffic after Ever Given refloated
• ULCS: too big to sail?
• How bad is the Suez Canal blockage for global trade? Depends who you ask
• Voyage planning and vessel tracking unveiled to bypass a blocked Suez
• Hapag-Lloyd: impact of the Suez Canal incident

24 June 2021

Mutual insurer UK P&I Club, who have been involved with the negotiations to secure release of the arrested Ever Given container ship, have said that the vessel’s owners, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd and Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) have reached an agreement in principle on the monetary sum needed to secure the release of the vessel from Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake, where it has been impounded since being freed from its position in the neighbouring Suez Canal, where it blocked transit of vessels for nearly a week in March 2021.

A statement on UK P&I Club’s website said "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. Together with the owner and the ship’s other insurers we are now working with the SCA to finalise a signed settlement agreement as soon as possible. Once the formalities have been dealt with, arrangements for the release of the vessel will be made."

No statement has been forthcoming on the matter from either Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd or the SCA, but the vessel’s charterers, Evergreen Marine Corporation released a confimatory statement advising those with cargo on board to post security bonds to avoid delay once the vessel arrives in a port of discharge.

"Further to the arrest of Ever Given in Egypt and negotiations between the shipowner and the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), Evergreen Line is pleased to confirm the acknowledgement from the shipowner that an agreement in principle has been reached in respect of the SCA’s claims, and a final formal settlement agreement is currently under negotiation. It may take some further time for the agreement to be concluded, for the vessel to be released from arrest and prepared for onward transit. In the meanwhile, we wish to advise cargo interests who have yet to provide a General Average security bond to expedite this process to avoid further delay in cargo release and delivery at the port of discharge."

14 April 2021
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), shipmanagers of the ultra large container ship (ULCS) Ever Given, which grounded in March and tied up traffic on the global shipping artery for days, have said the 20,000-TEU vessel is now being held by Egypt’s state-run Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

Noting that the vessel had passed inspections and been declared seaworthy, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement said Ever Given would remain in place until further notice.

"BSM has been informed by the vessel’s owner that the SCA began arrest procedures against the vessel. Currently, the vessel remains anchored in Great Bitter Lake until an agreement between the SCA and the vessel’s owner has been reached," the shipmanager said.

BSM called the decision "extremely disappointing" given their co-operation with investigations into the cause of the incident that left Ever Given wedged diagonally across the canal and caused a backlog of hundreds of ships on both sides of the canal, with projected costs of the blockage running to billions of dollars per day for global trade and costing Egyptian coffers tens of millions of dollars from lost revenue and fees associated with the vessel’s rescue.

“From the outset, BSM and the crew on board have co-operated fully with all authorities, including the SCA and their respective investigations into the grounding. This included granting access to the voyage data recorder and other materials and data requested by the SCA. BSM’s primary goal is a swift resolution to this matter that will allow the vessel and crew to depart the Suez Canal,” BSM chief executive Ian Beveridge said.

BSM said initial investigations have ruled out mechanical and engine failure as the cause of the grounding. Speculation at the time of the incident implicated strong winds from a dust storm as part of the reason the vessel drifted off course, but Egyptian authorities later said human error could also be to blame. Local pilots are on board to guide each ship’s transit of the canal, and ships’ crews execute the navigational manoeuvres required to keep the vessel afloat. Hydrodynamics, too, are complicated as enormous vessels transit relatively narrow and shallow waterways such as the Suez Canal. See below for more coverage from the complex ship grounding that caught the world’s attention.

Riviera Maritime Media will provide free technical and operational webinars in 2021. Sign up to attend on our events page