Ever Given is leaving the Suez Canal after its Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha reached a settlement with the canal authorities over compensation.
A huge container ship Ever Given that caused a massive blockade in the Suez Canal in March, disrupting global trade is finally leaving the waterway after Egypt signed a compensation deal with its owners and insurers. However, the terms of the deal were not disclosed but Egypt had demanded USD 550 million.
The Ever Given ship is leaving the Suez Canal after its Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, reached a settlement with the canal authorities over a compensation amount after more than three months of negotiations and a court standoff.
The settlement deal was signed in a ceremony in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, after which the vessel was seen sailing to the Mediterranean. Wednesday's release came a day after an Egyptian court lifted the judicial seizure of the vessel following the settlement deal.
The money, according to canal authorities, would cover the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic, and lost transit fees for the week Ever Given had blocked the canal.
The 193km (120-mile) Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea at the canal's northern end to the Red Sea in the south and provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.
How the blockade in the Suez Canal happened
The vital waterway was blocked when the 400m-long (1,312ft) Ever Given became wedged across it after running aground amid high winds.
It was on its way to the Dutch port of Rotterdam on March 23 when it slammed into the bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal about 6 kilometers north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez.
Global trade was disrupted as hundreds of ships were stuck in a traffic jam in Suez Canal.
The shutdown, which raised worries of supply shortages and rising costs for consumers, added strain on the shipping industry already in distress due to the pandemic.
The container ship was refloated following a six-day salvage operation that involved a flotilla of tug boats and dredging vessels. One person was killed during the operation.
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 "Ever Given container ship ready for departure from Suez Canal")
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