CAIRO — An Egyptian court Saturday adjourned the case of a hulking cargo vessel that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week earlier this year. The move is to allow more time for negotiations aiming at resolving a financial dispute between the Suez Canal Authority and the vessel’s owner.
The dispute centers on the compensation the Suez Canal Authority is claiming for the salvage of the vessel Ever Given, which ran aground in March, blocking the crucial waterway for six days.
At first, the authority demanded $916 million, which was later lowered to $550 million, canal authority head Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie said Sunday in comments on a television program.
The money would cover the salvage operation, the costs of stalled canal traffic and lost transit fees.
The vessel’s Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., and insurers said the demand is still too high. They previously had offered $150 million, but that was rejected by the canal authority.
The Ismailia Economic Court adjourned the hearing to June 20, as the vessel’s owner submitted a new offer to settle the dispute out of court, the Suez Canal Authority statement read.
Since it was freed, the Panama-flagged vessel, which carries cargo between Asia and Europe, has been ordered by authorities to remain in a holding lake mid-canal as its owner and the canal authority try to settle the compensation dispute.
The two sides have traded blame for the vessel’s grounding.