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Monday, 15 November 2021

Here we go again

Apparently we’re still not over the whole Ever Given thing: The National Navigational Company has filed a lawsuit in a local economic court against the owners of the Ever Given, claiming to have suffered heavy losses when the giant container ship blocked the Suez Canal in March, according to Sada El Balad.

In case you forgot: Egypt became the center of global attention for six days in March after the Panama-flagged ship became lodged, disrupting some 10-15% of global trade. Cue several months of haggling between the Egyptian government and the ship’s ins. companies, which was settled in July with a reported payout of USD 540 mn to the Suez Canal Authority.

The National Navigational Company is just one strand of a litigation nightmare being faced by ship owner Shoei Kisen and its ins. companies, which could be in for years of lawsuits as those affected by the incident file claims and seek damages. Fitch Ratings has estimated that claims can easily surpass hundreds of mns of EUR, and that it would affect marine reinsurers in particular.

The ruling on this particular case has been postponed until the end of the month, Sada El Balad reported yesterday evening.

Despite the disturbance, the Suez Canal is doing just fine, reporting record revenues during the first six months of the year.

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