The Ever Given May Not Be Out Of Muddy Waters Just Yet

CNBC reported: 

Egyptian authorities may seek over $1 billion in damages for helping to clear the Ever Given from the Suez Canal, as a dilemma emerges over who might foot the bill.

“We will reach over a billion dollars in compensation,” Osama Rabie, the chairman and managing director of the state-owned Suez Canal Authority, told Egypt’s Sada El Balad channel on Wednesday evening.

Rabie said the figure is based on canal revenue losses, the cost of equipment and machinery, and the manpower hours for the 800 rescuers who freed the ship.

“We will ask for a fair amount,” Rabie said, according to a NBC News translation, without specifying who might be liable to pay.

“We saved them so much by rescuing the ship without any major damage or losses,” he added.

USA Today had more on the story: 

The cost of blocking shipping for almost a week through one of the most crucial waterways on earth apparently comes in at right around $1 billion.

And that's just the bill Egypt could soon be trying to collect. It does not include damages for the owners of more than 400 boats delayed by the calamity on the Suez Canal, nor compensation that could be sought by companies whose materials or products were on those boats.

Lt. Gen. Ossama Rabei, head of Suez Canal Authority, told Egypt's Sada ElBalad news that Egypt will likely seek $1 billion in compensation for physical and financial damages resulting from the grounding of the massive cargo ship Ever Given. Rabei said the compensation would cover losses from transit fees, the cost of six days of dredging and tugboat activity – and damage to the canal from the dredging.