Egypt impounds Suez megaship amid talks over compensation claim

Ever Given will not be allowed to leave Egypt until compensation amount is settled with owners, canal authority says.

Authorities in Egypt have impounded a megaship that blocked the Suez Canal and crippled world trade for nearly a week in the face of a financial dispute with its owner. Suez Canal Authority (SCA) chief Lieutenant General Osama Rabie said on Tuesday the hulking Ever Given would not be allowed to leave the country until a compensation amount is settled on with the vessel’s Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. “The vessel is now officially impounded,” he told Egypt’s state-run television late on Monday. “They do not want to pay anything.”