Maersk sues Evergreen to block Suez Canal in 2021
CAIRO (AP) — The world’s largest shipping company said Monday it has sued a rival shipping line in a Danish court, seeking compensation for ship delays. Blockade of the Suez Canal by a ship two years ago.
The Panama-flagged ship Ever Given, operated by Evergreen Marine Corporation, blocked waterways worldwide for about a week in March 2021. The huge ship was released in a massive rescue operation.
In an email to The Associated Press, shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk said it filed a claim at the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court in Copenhagen, Denmark, against Evergreen Marine, the ship’s Japanese owner, and its German technical manager, Bernhard Schulte Management.
The Copenhagen-based shipping company said the claim related to damage during the canal blockade. It did not give further details, including when it made the claim.
Shippingwatch, a news outlet covering the maritime industry, however, reported on Monday that 50 of Maersk’s container ships had been delayed due to the canal blockade.
The report added that Maersk is seeking millions of dollars in compensation from customers for the delayed shipment of cargo, among other costs.
Evergreen Marine and Bernhard Schulte did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The vessel’s Japanese owner, Shoi Kisen Kaisha Ltd., could not immediately be reached.
The Ever Given was en route to the Dutch port of Rotterdam on March 23, 2021 when it ran aground on a single-lane bank in the canal about 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) north of the southern entrance near the Egyptian city. of Suez.
A massive rescue effort by a flotilla of tidal tugboats freed the skyscraper six days later, ending the crisis and allowing hundreds of waiting ships to pass through the canal.
After its release, Ever Given was held in Egypt for more than three months amid financial disputes with the authorities. Its release came after reaching its owner Compromise with canal authorities on compensation After weeks of negotiations and court deadlock. Officials did not release details on the terms of the settlement but the canal authority sought more than $900 million in damages.
Canal blockades at the time forced some ships to take a longer alternative route around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, requiring additional fuel and other costs. Hundreds of other ships await the end of the blockade.
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Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen contributed to this report in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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