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Suez Canal Blockage shows that Indians are all SCUM, IRRESPONSIBLE and Corrupted to the CORE

I have the feeling the Suez Canal drama will not be the end. Perhaps the Strait of Hormuz and the Straits of Malacca will have 'incidents' in the near future too. :cool:

Straits of Malacca is an accident prone area. In fact there were many cases of collisions or near collisions between vessels there. My previous company tugboats were part of few salvage ops being deployed there back then to afloat sunken vessels and even fishing boats. But all the ops there were straight forward salvage jobs involving crane barges, divers and installation of oil spill containment booms. In fact our own Straits of Singapore had many collisions back then. In late 2000s , few of our tugboats were activated in a rescue operation when a Maersk tanker was grounded. Ship master was an experienced British chap. His CO an Ah Neh and the bridge team were all experienced chaps. Problem was the Ah Neh CO and the Bridge team were too scared to overule the decision made by their British ship Master even though they knew the master made the wrong move. It was human error due to complacency and the failure of the team to overrule their more experienced Master. We managed to tow the vessel and our kiasu MPA all that time very worried on the damage done to the corals in that area.
 
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I'm not sure if the salvage law will be implemented in this case since Boskalis Smit helped to rescue this ship. Boskalis and Smit used to be separate companies before the merger. In few cases, salvage company hired to rescue a ship in distressed is entitled to be awarded the equivalent of full or partial value of the property that is carried by the vessel. That's how my old company used to be prosperous and 6 months bonus every year was a common thing for us back then.
 
I'm not sure if the salvage law will be implemented in this case since Boskalis Smit helped to rescue this ship. Boskalis and Smit used to be separate companies before the merger. In few cases, salvage company hired to rescue a ship in distressed is entitled to be awarded the equivalent of full or partial value of the property that is carried by the vessel. That's how my old company used to be prosperous and 6 months bonus every year was a common thing for us back then.
Sounds like piracy if they charge based on salvage value instead of equipment, manpower and expertise on hourly basis.
 
If the crew is found to be incompetent, will they be executed for the damage they have done?

Losses from Ever Given blockage of Suez Canal estimated to reach more than $1 billion
Posted 4h
An Egyptian flag is raised by a man watching the Ever Given sail through the canal.
The six-day blockage of the Suez Canal threw global supply chains into disarray.( AP: Suez Canal Authority )
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The chairman of the Suez Canal Authority has valued losses and damages from the Ever Given blockage at a potential $US1 billion ($1.3 billion).

Key points:
An investigation will examine the seaworthiness of the ship and the captain's actions
The ship will remain anchored until the investigation is complete
Ships are being fast-tracked through the canal, with hopes the backlog can be cleared within days
The six-day blockage threw global supply chains into disarray after the 400-metre-long ship became jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

"The amount of damage and losses, and how much the dredgers consumed, will be calculated," authority chairman Osama Rabie said.

"Estimates, God willing, will reach a billion dollars and a little bit more."

Formal investigations into how the giant container ship ran aground are now underway.

Lead investigator Sayed Sheasha said the investigation would include examining the seaworthiness of the ship, and its captain's actions.

Divers were seen checking the hull of the ship while it anchored in the Bitter Lakes area, just north of the site where it previously blocked the canal.

The Ever Given's captain was committed to fully complying with the probe, Mr Sheasha said.

"The ship will remain in the lakes area until the investigations are complete," Mr Rabie said, adding there was no definite time frame for the inquiry.

He confirmed investigators had already questioned the crew.

The Ever Given cargo ship navigates through the Suez Canal, flanked by tugboats
A team of tugboats led the freed ship to the Bitter Lakes area, where it will remain until the invesigations are complete.( Suez Canal Authority Via AP )
The ship's Japanese owner said it had not received any claims or lawsuits over the blockage.

Ever Given cargo partially refloated in Suez Canal
The cargo ship was stuck in the canal for almost a week.( Planet Labs Via AP )
Canal authorities have now scheduled accelerated shipping convoys to clear a backlog of some 400 ships that built up at either end of the canal and along its course after the Ever Given became stranded.

The obstruction has created a massive traffic jam in the vital passage through the Egyptian desert, straining supply chains already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic.

Authorities hope the backlog of ships can be cleared by the end of the week.

A grey water authority boat sails past a sandy bank. On the bank lies a sign that reads 'welcome to egypt'
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said Egypt would not interfere in the investigation.( AP: Ayman Aref )
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi traveled to the canalside city of Ismailia to praise those who freed the vessel.

Speaking to a small group of reporters on a dock overlooking the waterway, Mr el-Sissi deflected questions about the investigation, saying Egypt would not interfere in a probe that would be left to “the specialists.”

“We want to confirm to all the world, that things are back to as they were,” he said.

He stood before a sign that said: “Welcome to the Suez Canal: Egypt’s lifeline of peace, prosperity and development.”

A backhoe is trying to dig out a giant ship that has run aground, the ship is approx 5x as big as the backhoe
Attempts were made to dig the ship free, however a high tide, coupled with a flotilla of tugboats, refloated it in the end.( AP/Suez Canal Authority )
On Monday, a flotilla of tugboats, helped by the tides, wrenched the ship's bulbous bow from the canal’s sandy bank, where it had been firmly lodged for nearly a week.

The tugs blared their horns in jubilation as they guided the Ever Given through the water after days of futility that had captivated the world, drawing scrutiny and social media ridicule.

Reuters/AP

Play Video. Duration: 1 minute 1 second
Ever Given ship fully floated after blocking Suez Canal for almost a week
ago
 
Sickening fallout of Suez Canal madness
Traffic Returns to Suez Canal After Stranded Ship Freed

The worst maritime animal welfare tragedy in history is now “unavoidable” after the week-long shutdown of the Suez Canal — as the crew of the stuck ship face criminal charges.
Even with the Ever Given now moving again, 200,000 live animals are trapped inside extremely hot cargo containers.
Despite many of them facing the slaughterhouses at their destination, the containers they are travelling in are quickly running out of feed and water — meaning the animals are facing a slow and painful death.
Gabrile Păun, the EU director for Animals International, said that even though the ships are moving, the water and food would not last until their sea journey is over.
“A ship that left Romania on 16 March was scheduled to arrive in Jordan on 23 March, but instead it would now reach port on 1 April at the earliest. That is a nine-day delay. Even if the ship had the required 25 per cent additional animal feed, it would only have lasted for 1.5 days”, he told EU Observer.
The MV Ever Given is now moving after being stuck in the Suez Canal for a week. Picture: Maxar Technologies / AFPSource:AFP
Meanwhile, the fallout of the calamity continues as investigators are to place the captain and crew of the container ship which blocked the crucial trade route under house arrest, it is claimed.
Union officials fear that the 25 seamen will be “scapegoats” for the chaos which halted international trade though the vital waterway for six days.
Ever Given, which was wedged across the canal after running aground, is now being inspected after being freed by tugs.
The crew are expected to be seized by Egyptian maritime officials.
The government and seafarers’ organisations in India, where the men are from, fear they could face lengthy jail sentences.
It was suggested a sandstorm had blown the ship off course but canal chiefs said they were looking at the possibility of “human error”.
The blockage is said to have cost more than billions of dollars to world trade.
But fears that it could take weeks to refloat the behemoth proved unfounded.
Six days into the crisis, after major operations involving a flotilla of tug boats and excavators dredging up sand, the Japanese-owned MV Ever Given was freed and taken to an unobtrusive anchorage.
The blockage is said to have cost more than billions of dollars to world trade. Picture: Ahmad Hassan / AFPSource:AFP
Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority was quick to claim credit.
“Anywhere else in the world, this operation would have taken three months,” boasted canal chief Osama Rabie, adding that “99 per cent” of personnel working at the scene had been Egyptian.
Visibly relieved, he said he had been told by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi that “the reputation of Egypt rested on my shoulders”.
Sisi, who deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, spent over $8 billion to widen and add a 35km second lane on a northern segment of the canal amid much pomp six years ago.
 
Just build a parallel canal alongside.
By being in charge of this vital route you'd think the Egyptians would have done upgrades or widened the channel... but the lackluster initial response showed how unprepared they are.

Can't trust any brown people to run things
 
By being in charge of this vital route you'd think the Egyptians would have done upgrades or widened the channel... but the lackluster initial response showed how unprepared they are.

Can't trust any brown people to run things
You are so outdated. They have just completed upgrading, parallel sections and widened main canal just a year or so ago. But a stupig chinese company had to block the canal after billions spent doing it.
 
By being in charge of this vital route you'd think the Egyptians would have done upgrades or widened the channel... but the lackluster initial response showed how unprepared they are.

Can't trust any brown people to run things

They tried their best. And you can't suka suka widen the Suez Canal like you would widen Sinkie roads.

 
You are so outdated. They have just completed upgrading, parallel sections and widened main canal just a year or so ago. But a stupig chinese company had to block the canal after billions spent doing it.
Obviously the money they spent was in vain . Must have kenna makaned by brown people management
 
Suez blockage may lead to large reinsurance claims, broker Willis Re says
The blockage of the Suez Canal is likely to lead to large reinsurance claims, adding to upward pressure on marine reinsurance rates, James Vickers, chair of reinsurance broker Willis Re International, told Reuters.
FILE PHOTO: A view shows Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken on March 29, 2021. Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
01 Apr 2021 04:15PM
(Updated: 01 Apr 2021 05:05PM)
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LONDON: The blockage of the Suez Canal is likely to lead to large reinsurance claims, adding to upward pressure on marine reinsurance rates, James Vickers, chair of reinsurance broker Willis Re International, told Reuters.
Formal investigations began this week into how the giant container ship Ever Given ran aground in the canal, shutting down shipping in the major global waterway for almost a week.
The incident and its impact on hundreds of ships delayed in the canal would be a "large loss" for insurance market Lloyd's of London, its chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown said this week, while Fitch Ratings said global reinsurers were likely to face hundreds of millions of euros of claims.
Vickers also said reinsurance losses were "not going to be a small amount of money". The blockage was the latest in a growing number of man-made disasters leading to reinsurance losses, on top of a list of natural catastrophes in the past year, he said.
Reinsurers help insurers cover claims for major events such as hurricanes, in return for part of the premium. Reinsurers typically raise rates after they experience large losses.
Even before the Suez incident, the marine market "didn't need much encouragement to keep going in an upward direction", Vickers said.
Global marine reinsurance rates were generally seeing "high single digit" percentage point increases, Willis Re said in its April reinsurance renewals report on Thursday.
Marine reinsurance premiums have been rising for the past few years after several years of falling rates, as Lloyd's of London and other firms have cut back on loss-making lines, reducing competition. The COVID-19 pandemic has also put upward pressure on reinsurance rates across the board.
Elsewhere, the U.S. property reinsurance market has been hit by a number of catastrophes including Winter Storm Uri in the United States in February, with rates up by as much as 25per cent in April, the report showed.
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
Source: Reuters
 
Egypt demands over $1B in damages after Suez Canal blockage
1 day ago
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Egypt's Suez canal Authority warns the ship and its cargo will not be allowed leave if the issue of damages goes to court.


A man waves an Egyptian flag as ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, is seen after it was fully floated in Suez Canal, Egypt March 29, 2021. ( Reuters )
Egypt wants over $1 billion in compensation after a cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week, a top canal official has said.

Lt. Gen. Osama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority on Thursday warned the ship and its cargo will not be allowed leave Egypt if the issue of damages goes to court.

He said in a phone interview with a pro-government TV talk show that the amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled traffic, and lost transit fees for the week that the Ever Given had blocked the Suez Canal.

“It’s the country’s right,” Rabei said, without specifying who would be responsible for paying the compensation. He added that in the past, canal authorities and the ship's owners have had a good relationship.

The massive cargo ship is currently in one of the canal's holding lakes, where authorities and the ship's managers say an investigation is ongoing.

On Thursday, the ship's technical managers, Bernard Schulte Ship management, said that the ship's crew was cooperating with authorities in their investigation into what led to the vessel running aground.

They said that Suez Canal Authority investigators have been given access to the Voyage Data Recorder, also known as a vessel's black box.

If the issue of compensation involved litigation, then the Ever Given and its some $3.5 billion worth of cargo would not be allowed to leave Egypt, he told the show’s host.

Multinational ownership

Litigation could be complex, since the vessel is owned by a Japanese firm, operated by a Taiwanese shipper, and flagged in Panama.

Bernhard Schulte has said previously that two Egyptian canal pilots were aboard when the ship got stuck. Such an arrangement is customary to guide vessels through the narrow waterway, but the ship’s captain retains ultimate authority, according to experts.

On Monday, a flotilla of tugboats helped by the tides, wrenched the Ever Given's bulbous bow from the canal’s sandy bank, where it had been firmly lodged. The tugs then guided the Ever Given through the water after days of unsuccessful attempts to dislodge the colossus that had captivated the world, drawing scrutiny and social media ridicule.

The Ever Given had crashed into a bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal about 6 kilometres north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez. That forced some ships to take the long, alternate route around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa’s southern tip, a 5,000-kilometre detour that costs ships hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel and other costs. Others waited in place for the blockage to be over.

The unprecedented shutdown, which raised fears of extended delays, goods shortages and rising costs for consumers, added to strain on the shipping industry, already under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.

Future disruptions

Egypt's Suez Canal must move quickly to upgrade its technical infrastructure if it is to avoid future shipping disruption, shipping industry sources said, as the major trade route tries to bounce back from a costly six-day closure.

Egypt will get two new tugboats, one next week and one in August, Rabie said after the ship was finally freed, as well as taking the biggest dredger in the Middle East and arranging for a further five new Chinese tugboats.

But shipping industry sources said specialist equipment and associated procedures have long struggled to keep up with the ever increasing size of commercial vessels.

"The average size of most vessels has increased exponentially over the last 15 years. The ability to salvage these bigger ships has not," said Peter Townsend, a marine insurance industry veteran.

"The issue is getting containers off essentially a 20-storey high building at sea."

Michael Kingston, an international shipping specialist and an adviser to the United Nation's International Maritime Organization, flagged such problems in 2013, three years before the MSC Fabiola container ship ran aground, also blocking traffic for days.

"The obvious way to lighten a vessel ...

is to take the containers off. They had no way of doing it. No equipment was readily available," he said of the Ever Given incident.
 
Marwa Elselehdar: 'I was blamed for blocking the Suez Canal'
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Marwa Elselehdar
Image caption Marwa Elselehdar is Egypt's first female ship's captain
Last month, Marwa Elselehdar noticed something strange.

News had broken about a huge container ship, the Ever Given, that had become wedged across the Suez Canal, bringing one of world's major shipping routes to a halt.

But as she checked her phone, online rumours were saying she was to blame.

"I was shocked," says Marwa, Egypt's first female ship's captain.

At the time of the Suez blockage, Ms Elselehdar was working as a first mate, in command of the Aida IV, hundreds of miles away in Alexandria.

The vessel, owned by Egypt's maritime safety authority, runs supply missions to a lighthouse in the Red Sea. It's also used to train cadets from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), a regional university run by the Arab League.

Rumours about Marwa Elselehdar's role on the Ever Given were largely spurred by screenshots of a fake news headline - supposedly published by Arab News - which said she was involved in the Suez incident.

The doctored image appears to be from a genuine Arab News story, released on 22 March, which profiles Marwa's success as Egypt's first female ship captain. The picture has been shared dozens of times on Twitter and Facebook.

Several Twitter accounts under her name have also spread false claims that she was in involved with the Ever Given.

Marwa Elselehdar, 29, told the BBC she has no idea who first spread the story or why they did it.

"I felt that I might be targeted maybe because I'm a successful female in this field or because I'm Egyptian, but I'm not sure," she said.

It's not the first time she's faced challenges in an industry historically dominated by men. At present, women only account of 2% of the world's seafarers, according to the International Maritime Organisation.

Image copyright Marwa Elselehdar
Image caption
Marwa Elselehdar says she feels encouraged by some of the response she's had to the false rumours
Marwa says she's always loved the sea, and was inspired to join the merchant navy after her brother enrolled at the AASTMT.

Though the academy only accepted men at the time, she applied anyway and was granted permission to join after a legal review by Egypt's then-President Hosni Mubarak.

During her studies, Ms Elselehdar says she faced sexism at every turn.

"Onboard, they were all older men with different mentalities, so it was difficult not to be able to find like-minded people to communicate with," she says. "It was challenging to go through this alone and be able to overcome it without affecting my mental health."

"People in our society still don't accept the idea of girls working in the sea away from their families for a long time," she adds. "But when you do what you love, it is not necessary for you to seek the approval of everyone."

After graduating, Marwa rose to the rank of first mate, and captained the Aida IV when it became the first vessel to navigate the newly-expanded Suez Canal in 2015. At the time, she was the youngest and first female Egyptian captain to cross the waterway.

In 2017 she was also honoured by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during Egypt's Women's Day celebrations.

Video caption
The stranded container ship is seen finally on the move and no longer blocking the canal
When rumours emerged about her role in the Suez blockage, she feared for the impact it would have on her work.

"This fake article was in English so it spread in other countries," says Ms Elselehdar. "I tried so hard to negate what was in the article because it was affecting my reputation and all the efforts I exerted to be where I am now."

But she says she feels encouraged by some of the response.

"The comments on the article were very negative and harsh but there were so many other supportive comments from ordinary people and people I work with," she says. "I decided to focus on all the support and love I'm getting, and my anger turned to gratefulness."

"Also, it is worth mentioning that I became even more famous than before," she adds.

Next month Marwa Elselehdar will be taking her final exam to attain a full rank of captain, and hopes she can continue to be a role model for women in the industry.

"My message to females who want to be in the maritime field is fight for what you love and not let any negativity to affect you," says Marwa.
 
Last of 400 stranded ships pass through Suez Canal as compensation case looms
Posted 4h
The giant Ever Given ship is accompanied by Suez Canal tugboats as it moves in the Suez Canal.
The canal was blocked on March 23 when the Ever Given got stuck.( AP: Suez Canal Authority )
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The last of 400 ships blocked at Egypt's Suez Canal have now passed through the waterway, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.

Key points:
422 ships with a total net load of 26 million tonnes had passed through the canal since it's reopening
The Egyptian government said the vessel will not be released until compensation is settled
Insiders said this could be the largest ever container ship compensation case
The canal was blocked on March 23 when the Ever Given -- one of the world's largest container ships -- got stuck diagonally across its width.

The 224,000-ton Panama-flagged vessel was grounded in a narrow section of the canal after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a sandstorm, which led to temporary suspension of navigation in the man-made waterway.

The ship was freed several days ago and all vessels that were left waiting at either end of the canal have now passed through, the SCA announced on Saturday.

Authorities have opened an investigation into the incident and the results of that inquiry should be made public early next week.

The Ever Given is under investigation at the Great Bitter Lake, part of the Suez Canal.

Osama Rabie, chairman of the SCA, said 422 ships with a total net load of 26 million tonnes had passed through the canal since it's reopening, including 85 on Saturday.

A backhoe is trying to dig out a giant ship that has run aground, the ship is approx 5x as big as the backhoe
The closure of the canal had cost about $18 million of revenue every day.( AP/Suez Canal Authority )
Compensation claim could surpass one $US1 billion
The Egyptian government said the Ever Given would not be released until compensation was paid by the vessel's owner.

According to Mr Rabie, the loss could surpass $US1 billion ($1.3 billion).

The Ever Given's technical managers, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, said on Monday that its initial investigations suggested a strong wind had veered the ship off course.

A cargo ship sails pat a sign the reads "Suez Canal Authority".
The SCA said "technical or human errors" may have been to blame for the ships grounding.( AP: Ayman Aref )
However, in an interview with the privately-owned Sada el-Balad TV on Wednesday, Mr Rabie said he believed the impact of the wind was not the main reason for the incident, and that "technical or human errors" may have been to blame.

"The Suez Canal has never been closed because of bad weather," he said.

Wai Gudula, former member of the Suez Canal administration committee, said Egypt's economic losses included the costs of getting the Ever Given out using "a large number of tugboats and dredgers in the process".

He added the closure of the canal had cost about $18 million of revenue every day.

Play Video. Duration: 1 minute 1 second
Ever Given ship fully floated after blocking Suez Canal for almost a week
Insiders said although the total compensation has not been determined, this could be the largest ever container ship compensation case.

Linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, the Suez Canal is a major lifeline for global seaborne trade since it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa, thereby reducing the sea voyage distance between Europe and India by about 7,000 kilometres.

ABC/wires
 
Suez Canal: Egypt's first female captain falsely blamed for Ever Given jam
Egypt's first female ship captain fears for her career after she was blamed falsely for the Suez Canal blockage when she was aboard a vessel 200 miles away

Joshua Zitser
Apr 4, 2021, 7:29 AM
ever given suez canal
Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship, wedged across the Suez Canal on March 27.
  • Marwa Elselehdar is Egypt's first female ship captain.
  • Online rumors and fake news headlines blamed her for the Ever Given grounding, she told the BBC.
  • Elselehdar was 200 miles away from the incident when it occurred, the BBC reported.
Egypt's first female ship captain was blamed for the Suez Canal blockage despite having been hundreds of miles away from the incident, she told BBC News.
Marwa Elselehdar said that she saw online rumors accusing her of being responsible for the Ever Given container ship becoming beached, the media outlet reported.
The BBC reported that at the time of the jam, Elselehdar was working as a first mate on the Aida IV in Alexandria — more than 200 miles away from the site of the collision.
An investigation is underway to explain the Ever Given's grounding, but it is clear that the 29-year-old was not to blame.
Rumors circulating online about Elselehdar's supposed culpability were made worse by the sharing of screenshots of fake news headlines, BBC News reported.
Social-media accounts also impersonated her and spread false claims putting the blame on her, the media outlet said.
"I felt that I might be targeted maybe because I'm a successful female in this field or because I'm Egyptian, but I'm not sure," Elselehdar told the BBC.
Elselehdar described how she was "shocked" when she first saw the accusations on her phone.
The rumors concerned her. "I tried so hard to negate what was in the article because it was affecting my reputation and all the efforts I exerted to be where I am now," she told the BBC.
Elselehdar is one of the few women in the male-dominated shipping industry.
In 2016, she became the youngest and first female Egyptian captain to cross the Suez Canal. A year later, she was honored by Egypt's president during Egypt's Women's Day celebrations, the BBC said.
She hopes that her career, despite this setback, inspires other women to break into the industry.
"My message to females who want to be in the maritime field is fight for what you love and not let any negativity affect you," she told the BBC.
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2000000 Tons ship got pushed by wind? Wind how strong?

Other ships no problem why this one got problem?
 
Vessel impounded amid financial dispute
https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Ff35421bf-c972-4a65-b3b3-1c39b030ff82
Asatellite file image from Planet Labs Inc, the cargo ship MV Ever Given sits stuck in the Suez Canal near Suez, Egypt. (AP)
There was no immediate comment from the vessel's owner.
Rabei did not say how much money the canal authority was seeking. However, a judicial official said it demanded at least US$900 million ($1.178 billion). The state-run Ahram daily also reported the US$900 million figure.
That amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic and lost transit fees for the week that the Ever Given blocked the canal.
The official said the order to impound the vessel was issued Monday by a court in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, and that the vessel's crew has been informed Tuesday.
He said prosecutors in Ismailia also opened a separate investigation into what led the Ever Given to run aground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief media.
Rabie said negotiations were still ongoing to reach a settlement on compensation.
He warned last week in an interview with The Associated Press that bringing the case before a court would be more harmful to the vessel's owner than settling with the canal's management.
Litigation could be complex, since the vessel is owned by a Japanese firm, operated by a Taiwanese shipper, and flagged in Panama.
The Panama-flagged ship that carries some US$3.5 billion ($4.58 billion) in cargo between Asia and Europe ran aground March 23 in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Asian Sinai Peninsula.
The vessel had crashed into the bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal about 6km north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez.
A cargo ship named the Ever Given sits with its bow stuck into the wall after it become wedged across Egypt's Suez Canal and blocked all traffic in the vital waterway. (AP)
On March 29, salvage teams freed the Ever Given, ending a crisis that had clogged one of the world's most vital waterways and halted billions of dollars a day in maritime commerce. The vessel has since idled in Egypt's Great Bitter Lake, just north of the site where it previously blocked the canal.
The unprecedented six-day shutdown, which raised fears of extended delays, goods shortages and rising costs for consumers, added to strain on the shipping industry already under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.
Rabie, the canal chief, told state-run television there was no wrongdoing by the canal authority. He declined to discuss possible causes, including the ship's speed and the high winds that buffeted it during a sandstorm.
When asked whether the ship's owner was at fault, he said: "Of course, yes."
Rabie said the conclusion of the authority's investigation was expected Thursday.
 
Ever Given crew could be stuck on Suez Canal vessel for years amid financial dispute

In this photo released by Suez Canal Authority, the Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship, is pulled by one of the Suez Canal tugboats. (AP)
"The vessel is now officially impounded," he told Egypt's state-run television earlier this month.

"They do not want to pay anything."

There was no immediate comment from the vessel's owner.

General Rabei did not say how much money the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) was seeking.

However, a judicial official said it demanded at least $1.17 billion (US$916 million) for salvage costs and damages before the vessel is released.

The state-run Ahram daily also reported the US$900 million figure.

That amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic and lost transit fees for the week that the Ever Given blocked the canal.

But the UK Club, an insurance company representing the Ever Given's owners, said the SCA has not provided a justification for the "extraordinarily large claim", the Guardian reported.

"We are also disappointed at comments by the SCA that the ship will be held in Egypt until compensation is paid and that her crew will be unable to leave the vessel during this time," they said.

The 26 Ever Given crew are relaxed but apprehensive, according to Abdulgani Y Serang, the head of the National Union of Seafarers of India, which represents the crew.

A satellite file image from Planet Labs Inc, the cargo ship MV Ever Given sits stuck in the Suez Canal near Suez, Egypt. (AP)
"These are professionals who had nothing to do with this incident and should not be held to ransom," Mr Serang said.

"They should not feel any heat at all from this whole incident."

But the SCA have said the crew are in fact allowed to leave the ship whenever they choose, however there are some exceptions – the captain cannot leave the ship and there must be enough crew left behind to tend to the vessel.

This is similar to a case involving Mohammed Aisha, a ship captain who was stuck on the MV Aman cargo vessel for four years.

A legal dispute occurred between Egyptian authorities and the ship's owners over expired safety equipment and classification certificates, the National Post said.

Mr Aisha spent two of the four years completely isolated on the ship, eventually becoming malnourished and experiencing symptoms similar to a prisoner held in poor conditions, the Guardian said.

World's biggest ships revealed
An official attached to the Ever Given's case say prosecutors in Ismailia have also opened a separate investigation into what led the ship to run aground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief media.

General Rabie said negotiations were still ongoing to reach a settlement on compensation.

He warned earlier this month in an interview with The Associated Press that bringing the case before a court would be more harmful to the vessel's owner than settling with the canal's management.

Litigation could be complex, since the vessel is owned by a Japanese firm, operated by a Taiwanese shipper, and flagged in Panama.

The Panama-flagged ship that carries some $4.5 billion (US$3.5 billion) in cargo between Asia and Europe ran aground March 23 in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Asian Sinai Peninsula.

The vessel had crashed into the bank of a single lane stretch of the canal about six kilometres north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez.

The vessel had crashed into the bank of a single lane stretch of the canal about six kilometres north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez. (AP)
On March 29, salvage teams freed the Ever Given, ending a crisis that had clogged one of the world's most vital waterways and halted billions of dollars a day in maritime commerce. The vessel has since idled in Egypt's Great Bitter Lake, just north of the site where it previously blocked the canal.

The unprecedented six-day shutdown, which raised fears of extended delays, goods shortages and rising costs for consumers, added to strain on the shipping industry already under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.

General Rabie, the canal chief, told state-run television there was no wrongdoing by the canal authority. He declined to discuss possible causes, including the ship's speed and the high winds that buffeted it during a sandstorm.

When asked whether the ship's owner was at fault, he said: "Of course, yes."
 
anybody who knew a thing about CECA could have told you about it

the fact that tiongs still can not defeat dismember crush obliterate decimate eliminate a smaller CECA country tells you how incompetent cowardly pathetic the tiongs have to be.

and for yanks to be pushed back by the same tiongs, in the longest retreat in yankee military history, also tells you how mediocre yanks have always been
 
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