EVER GIVEN

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Boskalis subsidiary files lawsuit to get more money for salvage

Boskalis wants to receive more money through its subsidiary SMIT Salvage for refloating the 'Ever Given'. The subsidiary has therefore filed a lawsuit against the Japanese owner of the ship. SMIT believes extra money is necessary because a dangerous situation arose for employees during the salvage work in the Suez Canal. Two tugs were in danger of being sucked under the ship when it broke free. Only swift action by SMIT personnel, who were able to release the tow ropes, could prevent this. The company therefore wants to submit a so-called salvage claim, butthe ship owner Higaki Sangyo Kaisha would block this claim. According to lawyers from the Japanese company, SMIT did not play a major role in pulling the ship loose. The case has been brought before the UK court, where maritime claims are usually fought. If SMIT gets permission for the claim, it could yield the company more than 30 million Euros.

Maersk demands compensation from Evergreen

Maersk was demanding compensation of an unknown amount at the Maritime and Commercial Court from Evergreen, the shipping company behind the 'Ever Given' in connection with the grounding in the Suez Canal on March 23, 2021. The compensation must cover the losses the shipping company experienced as a result of the canal being blocked for six days.

Owner of Ever Given sued at court in London

Lawyers continue to deal with the 'Ever Given' grounding. A group of cargo owners and their insurers are suing the ship’s owner, Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha, at a court in London over the accident, which saw the ship unable to leave Egypt for months until fines were agreed upon between the shipowner and the Suez Canal Authority (SCA). The latest court case has been brought by Adriaanse Import & Export, JDM Food Group, Rewe-Zentral, TFC Holland and insurers AIG and Allianz. Much of the claims relate to food which had spoiled by the time they reached their destination many months later than planned. The shippers and their insurers claim that the grounding happened thanks to the decision to speed through the canal and the failure to stick to the deepest, central part of the waterway. The cargo owners told the High Court the shipowners “were negligent and/or failed to act with reasonable care and skill in breach of their duties.” The court papers filed in London alleged that the master of the ship, which was managed by Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, was sailing for 18 minutes above the 12-knot speed limit at which point the ship lost control, veered from side to side before grounding with its bow firmly lodged in one of the banks of the canal, blocking intercontinental trade for close to a week and creating the most high profile shipping accident this century. In June the French reinsurer SCOR estimated claims relating to the grounding will top $2bn. In total, SCOR, one of the world’s largest reinsurers, estimates as many as 400 ships were blocked in total, with a host of other vessels deciding to avoid the area entirely and take the longer route via the Cape of Good Hope. Claims from the grounding include physical damage to the Ever Given, loss of revenue on the part of the SCA, the cost of the salvage operations and business interruption for owners and charterers of the blocked vessels, loss of perishables and cargo delays, as well as damage to the canal itself. Reinsurers will have to absorb the bulk of the claims, which could amount to more than $2bn.