Egyptian Lawyer Khaled Abu Bakr joins legal team representing SCA in the case of stranded MV EVER GIVEN

CAIRO – 27 May 2021: Egyptian Lawyer Khaled Abu Bakr has joined the legal committee presenting the Suez Canal Authority in the case of the stranded Panama-flagged container ship EVER GIVEN. 

 

 

The decision of hiring Abu Bakar as a legal consultant was issued by Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Admiral Osama Rabie, on Thursday, announced the SCA Spokesperson George Safwat in a statement.  

 

 

On May 23 2021, Egypt’s Ismailia Economic Court rejected an appeal filed by the owners of Ever Given vessel to release the ship, while in the same hearing session, the court recused itself from the consideration of another case filed by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

 

 

As for the first case, the court upheld a ruling issued by the Ismailia Court of First Instance on May 4, rejecting the appeal made by the owners of the ship (Shoei Kisen Kaisha) against keeping the ship under arrest. The Ismailia Economic Court did not reveal the reasons for its today’s rejection yet.

 

In the second case that was filed by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) to keep the seizure of the ship valid, the same Ismailia Economic Court recused itself from this case, without revealing the reasons of its decision. Therefore, it referred this case to the Economic Court of First Instance to be considered on May 29, according to statements from the SCA on Sunday.

 

The MV EVER GIVEN went aground on March 23, 2021, in the 151 km of the Suez Canal, where the vessels in both directions pass, causing the suspension of the international maritime navigation through the canal for six days. After it was freed on March 29, the ship was escorted to the Bitter Lakes for technical inspection, crew interrogation, and black box analysis.

 

Egypt has asked for $916 million in compensation for damages caused by the grounding of the ship, the salvage operation, and for loss of reputation. The situation complicated when an economic court in Ismailia governorate issued on April 13, 2021 a decision to officially arrest the ship until paying compensation.

 

 After negotiation, the SCA reduced the compensation claims from $916 million to $600 million. However, Admiral Osama Rabie stated three days ago in a phone-in that the Japanese Company wants to reduce the compensation sum from $600 million to $150 million.